Cathie to Work on Future Belgian and German Offshore Grid Links

Geoscience and geotechnical engineering consultancy Cathie has won two multi-year framework agreements with Elia and 50Hertz for the provision of Marine Consultancy Services for new offshore wind export cables.

Elia and 50Hertz, part of the Elia Group have awarded Cathie two framework agreements spanning the next six years.

Between 2020 and 2025, Cathie will provide Belgium-based Elia with marine consultancy, cable design and engineering support for the planning, tendering and execution of the new grid infrastructure development for the Modular Offshore Grid II (MOG II) in Belgium.

And for 50Hertz, Cathie is expected to offer similar support to grid developments for the site Ostwind 3 and possible further potential wind farm areas in Germany until 2026.

The work will be led by Cathie’s Belgium-based team. The services encompass Cathie’s full range of subsea cable solutions as well as engaging partner consultancies for broader solutions including metocean analysis and marine warranty.

“We’re delighted to sign this framework agreement to support the developments of Elia Group in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. Drawing on our expertise, seabed and below as well as our vast local and global experience, we’re confident our approach will add value to the projects through appropriate risk management, innovative solutions and associated cost reductions,” Alexandru Grosaru, Cathie’s Business Development Coordinator, said.

Elia’s MOG-II project aims to develop and build new offshore grid infrastructure to link new wind farms in the Belgian part of the North Sea to the mainland grid.

The project involves extending the existing modular offshore grid to connect new offshore generation units to the mainland.

The Ostwind 3 grid connection in the German Baltic Sea will link the wind farms developed in the O-1 area. The area was identified by German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie; BSH) as suitable for the construction and operation of offshore wind farms earlier this year.