LIVE BLOG: Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference 2024

Welcome to the Live Blog!

Green Growth: Securing a sustainable future

The speakers of the session at the Conference shared insights about clean energy, decarbonization and sustainability in the context of green growth. Furthermore, they provided clarity on what “green growth” actually means.

“Green growth is not only fighting the fight against climate change but achieving sustainability all over”, said Mark van Stiphout, Deputy Head of Unit for Research, Innovation, Competitiveness and Digitalization at DG Energy, European Commission.

Bas Nekema, Business Unit Director Northern Europe at DEME Offshore, pointed out: “We can look back into history and history will tell us where we need to go into the future.”

To note, Pieter Huyskens, Group Director RD&I at Damen Shipyards Group, and Corine Franken, Senior Investment Manager at Invest-NL, spoke at the session as well.

Nature Enhancement & Offshore Wind, 5 years The Rich North Sea program

The Rich North Sea, a joint program by the North Sea Foundation and Natuur & Milieu, utilizes offshore wind farms to enhance biodiversity and counter climate change.

During this session at the Stage, Karin Bilo, Senior Marine Ecology Specialist at Ørsted, discussed how Ørsted installed cod pipes. By providing habitat for cods, the company expects to provide habitat for other species, such as lobsters, which is where the Rich North Sea cooperation came from.

“Climate change will have much more impactful consequences for the marine environment,” noted Marjolein Kelder, Senior Project Manager at The Rich North Sea, adding that the time to act is now.

“This is a pilot which is going to give us some insight into how you can use these findings and integrate them into your windfarms,” said Bilo.

Kelder also mentioned that a toolbox was developed containing practical information on the project and highlighted the importance of learning by doing.

The future of offshore hydrogen

The Stage kicked off with ‘The future of offshore hydrogen’ session with discussions on the future of offshore hydrogen and a presentation on how integrating electrolyzers into offshore turbines can lower the cost of energy and enhance the security of supply.

Speakers included Jacqueline Vaessen, Director a.i. at NLHydrogen, and Jan Willem Langeraar, Director of Business Development at HYGRO.

“Hydrogen is not the holy grain, it will not solve anything, but it has an important role in heavy-duty mobility and can balance the electricity system,” stated Vaessen.

“NL is still the front-runner, but the competition is coming close.”

Floating Wind: Expanding the offshore wind market

The Floating Wind session is now well underway at the Conference, with the panelists discussing the specific requirements for floating wind, compared to fixed-bottom, and what these further require from the supply chain.

“The perfect port for floating wind hasn’t been built yet,” said Tommy Sandtorv, CCO at Karmsund Port.

Speakers included:

• Axelle Viré, Professor Floating Offshore Wind at Delft University of Technology
• James Young, Chief Strategy and Compliance Officer at JDR Cables
• Tommy Sandtorv, CCO Karmsund Port at Karmsund Port Authority
• Richard den Hollander, Global Business Development and Account Management Director at Seaway7

Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference officially opens!

The Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference has officially opened!

We welcome everyone to the 17th edition of our event, dedicated to the offshore energy sector. Are you ready to network and learn about new products and services in the industry?

Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference 2024 (OEEC 2024) is minutes away from the official opening!

The offshore energy industry is gathering at RAI Amsterdam as Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference will soon officially open its doors.

The stands are ready and OEEC is buzzing with activity, even though we are some half an hour away from the official opening.

Here we will regularly update you with event highlights. You can expect plenty of interaction, information, presentations and innovations.

What’s coming later today

The Stage, Hall 2

• (09:30 – 09:55) The future of offshore hydrogen – The first day of OEEC 2024 conference on the stage will start with a presentation on how integrating electrolyzers into offshore turbines can lower the cost of energy and enhance the security of supply by representatives from NLHydrogen and HYGRO.
• (10:00 – 10:55) Local production of hydrogen in offshore wind hub-ports – Next up, Netherlands Maritime Technology will tackle the topic of physical and economic indicators of hydrogen-driven offshore wind service vessels followed by a discussion on the feasibility of hydrogen as a decarbonization pathway.
• (11:00 – 11:25) Nature enhancement & offshore wind, 5 years The Rich North Sea program – Partners from The Rich North Sea and Ørsted will share updates on progress made in their program utilizing offshore wind farms to enhance biodiversity and counter climate change.
• (11:30 – 11:55) North Sea vision 2040 – Natuur & Milieu’s Director of programs will talk about the 2040 vision for the restoration of the North Sea and its valuable ecosystem.
• (12:00 – 12:25) Cross-pollination for one client in two industries – If you are interested in automation and robotization and implementing specialized ROV tooling in IRM projects, stop by this presentation by a representative of OEG Renewables.
• (13:30 – 13:55) Data driven insights turned into impact – How to create data-based value for your customers? Find out from experts at Huisman.
• (14:00 – 14:55) Seabed security panel discussion – The next session will feature speakers from TNO & SeaSEC, IRO & NMT, and the Dutch Ministry of Defense discussing offshore energy supply chain expertise as a means to protect undersea infrastructure.
• (15:00 – 15:25) Enhancing the financeability of the offshore wind supply chain – Invest-NL, TKI Offshore Energy, and JBR are studying how to improve financing for innovative and scaling projects in the Dutch offshore wind energy supply chain. Preliminary findings on financing demand, supply, and challenges will be shared during this presentation by an Invest-NL representative.
• (15:30 – 15:55) Outlook USA: a post-election update – What does the post-election landscape look like for offshore wind in the U.S.? Oceantic Network President & CEO will share some thoughts on the matter.
• (16:00 – 16:25) Innovative method for lifting topsides – An Iv representative will take you through the company’s patented method for lifting topsides that improves risk management, reduces costs, and increases flexibility, streamlining offshore platform construction.
• (16:30 – 17:25) Onshore and offshore wind power solutions for economic resilience of Ukraine – The penultimate session on the first day is a panel discussion on Ukraine’s onshore and offshore wind energy opportunities, with panelists from Ukrainian Wind Energy Association (UWEA) highlighting wind energy’s role in the country’s energy balance, progress in offshore development and what the market offers to Dutch partners.
• (17:30 – 17:55) Re-Quip: Pioneering a sustainable future for offshore T&I equipment – For the last session of the day, MeeMaken, Van Oord, and ECHT regie in transitie representatives will present the Re-Quip Marketplace – a pioneering initiative to enhance sustainability and transparency for offshore T&I equipment.

Conference Area, Hall 2

• (09:30 – 10:30) Floating Wind: Expanding the offshore wind market – The first day of OEEC 2024 conference kicks off with a session on floating wind and input from multiple vital areas of the industry with representatives from TU Delft, JDR Cable Systems, Karmsund Port Authority and Seaway 7 in the panelist seats.
• (11:30 – 12:30) Green Growth: Securing a sustainable future – Harmonizing economic growth with environmental sustainability in the world where we keep building more (offshore energy) infrastructure is up next with panelists from Damen Shipyards Group, Invest-NL, DEME Offshore and the European Commission’s DG Energy.
• (14:00 – 15:00) CCS: Completing the climate change menu – How are things going in the carbon capture and storage (CCS) industry? You can find this out at the CCS conference session where speakers from Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN), the UK’s North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), Strohm and ONE-Dyas will share their insights.
• (15:30 – 16:15) Presentation Program Nature Regeneration North Sea – Learn more about the ambition for large-scale nature enhancement in the North Sea from the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature who will introduce the new Nature Regeneration North Sea program being undertaken through a public-private partnership.

The Government of the Netherlands

• (13:30 – 18:00) Workshop Offshore Wind Energy in the Netherlands – The Dutch Government will host a workshop on offshore wind in the Netherlands in Room G102/103, where those who registered (as the room is full) will get an update on developments under the 21 GW Offshore Wind Energy Roadmap and beyond towards 2040 and much more.
• (09:00 – 16:45) Sessions, roundtables and workshops – The Government will be holding several knowledge sessions and roundtables throughout the day for foreign government officials and invited guests.