Carbon Trust to test Blue hammer for offshore wind installation

The Carbon Trust today announced the launch of a demonstration project to test the Blue hammer, a novel pile driver for offshore wind construction.

The Blue Pilot project, part of the Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA) programme, will see the technology verified offshore via the installation of a full-size monopile in Dutch waters. The tests will be carried out in the summer of 2018.

The Blue hammer has been developed by Dutch company Fistuca BV, a spin-off from Eindhoven University of Technology. It is expected to reduce underwater noise, removing the need for underwater noise mitigation, and to also limit the fatigue damage during installation on the pile by up to 90%, which could allow secondary steel to be pre-welded to the monopile, potentially paving the way to "transition piece free" designs.

The project could lead to lifetime savings of up to EUR 33 million-40 million (USD 41m-49m) for a 720-MW offshore wind farm.

Participating in the project are OWA partners E.on, EnBW, Ørsted, Statoil and Vattenfall, and additional industry partners Fistuca, Van Oord, Shell and Sif, which together are contributing EUR 3.2 million. RVO, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, has granted over EUR 2.5 million.

"It is great to see the whole supply chain involved in the project and collaborating towards the common goal of continuing the cost reduction in offshore wind," said Michael Stephenson of the Carbon Trust Offshore Wind Accelerator.

A gentle water hammer is to be tested. “The project offers potential improvements in three important areas – reduced costs, reduced environmental impact and increased technical knowhow" says Gunnar Groebler Head of Business Area Wind https://t.co/yu86tKZQak #Vattenfall #windpower pic.twitter.com/gCBLcZIrnS

— Vattenfall Group (@VattenfallGroup) 13 март 2018 г.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.235)

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