Vestas and Maersk Supply Service have formed a partnership to jointly develop solutions for the sustainable energy industry.
The partnership aims to address the industry’s future challenges within installation and logistics in order to decrease the cost of energy. For wind specifically, according to the companies, one of the industry’s main challenges is lowering the cost of transporting and installing wind turbines as they increase in size.
Combining Vestas’ insight into sustainable energy with Maersk Supply Service’s marine and logistics experience, the companies will collaborate on solving challenges within the industry related to logistics, installation and service.
First, the companies are developing a new crane solution for both onshore and offshore wind turbines. The installation concept, called vertical installer, involves a crane that will enable the use of lower-cost assets in the logistics value chain. The project is being developed in cooperation with MHI Vestas Offshore Wind and has received funding for the next three years from the Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Programme via the Danish Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Climate.
“The partnership with Maersk Supply Service will significantly improve and expand Vestas’ existing market-leading capabilities for advanced installation and logistics solutions,” says Bo Svoldgaard, senior vice president for innovation and concepts at Vestas. “We have a strong strategic fit, and the new vertical installer crane underlines how the partnership will support our goal to improve our efficiency in an area that will grow in importance as turbine components get bigger and infrastructure become more complex.”
“This is an exciting step for Maersk Supply Service and a great example of how our marine knowledge and versatile fleet can be leveraged in new industries,” adds Steen S. Karstensen, CEO of Maersk Supply Service. “Our partnership with Vestas and the development of vertical installer demonstrates that we are taking action to overcome industry challenges and ensure that the energy needs of the next generation are met.”
