Designing a unique and award-winning energy island

As a vital source of renewable energy, offshore wind will play a major role in the world’s battle against emissions. But connecting windfarms to the grid while making sure assets are protected from the impacts of climate change can be a major challenge. 

Elia is a company that is focused on delivering “successful energy transition in a sustainable world”. With the Princess Elisabeth Island, Elia will create a 6 hectare electricity hub in the North Sea to serve this purpose.

The island will bundle the cables from offshore wind farms to shore and act as an intermediate landing point for interconnectors that link Belgium to its neighbouring countries.
TM Edison is responsible for the design and installation of the energy island – the world’s first of its kind – with Royal HaskoningDHV providing the detailed designs as part of our own mission of Enhancing Society Together.

New ideas mean new challenges

Taking on a project that hasn’t been attempted before is never a simple task. And the North Sea poses its own challenges that need to be factored into designs. High waves, driving wind and rain, and the ever-present threat of flooding meant the island’s design had to be as robust as it was functional. 

With the support of our Belgian partner, SBE, we used our expertise to review the technical aspects of reference designs and create various iterations that optimised the final design.

This included the integration of wave walls and 23 caissons that make up the outer ring of the island to reduce offshore work, improve safety, and minimise environmental risks.  
As with all our work, sustainability also factored into the design process, with nature-inclusive elements added to protect the environment, foster biodiversity, and help local marine life thrive. Another major consideration was to reduce the materials needed to build the design, which would limit emissions and waste and simplify construction.

All of these elements combined to form the final design for the one-of-a-kind electricity hub

An award-winning design

With designs now finished, we will translate them to construction drawings in time for completion of the project in 2026. The island should be operational by 2030, enabling wind power to reach the grid and contributing to Belgium’s net zero targets.

Having our work recognised at this year’s Global Offshore Wind Awards was the icing on the cake. Our Gamechanger award was presented by Ed Miliband, the UK’s Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.

“This is fantastic recognition for this amazing project to build the world's first energy island; an example of integrating offshore wind with the future European grid infrastructure” says Stuart White, Director of Offshore Wind Ports at Royal HaskoningDHV. “We would like to thank our client and co-winner, DEME and Jan De Nul at TM Edison.”

To learn more about our climate resilience and maritime solutions, visit our maritime page.