In mid-September, the last caisson for 2025 was installed at the Princess Elisabeth Island in the Belgian North Sea, an important step in the construction of the world’s first energy island. This year’s offshore campaign has now concluded.
The work so far has involved a team of more than 300 people and a fleet of fifteen specialised vessels, including jack-up vessels, supply vessels, and tugboats.
The caissons, massive concrete structures weighing up to 22,000 tonnes, form the outer walls of the future island, located 45 km off the Belgian coast. The area set aside for the installation of the electrical infrastructure will be approximately 6 hectares in size, which is equivalent to about twelve football pitches. A small harbour and helicopter platform will also be provided in order to allow maintenance crews to visit the island.
Preparations for the next phase are underway, with offshore activities set to resume in spring 2026, weather permitting.
Also read: VIDEO: Jan De Nul and DEME build world’s first artificial energy island
Energy hub
Once completed, the island will connect offshore wind farms and may also serve as an energy hub for international interconnectors to the Belgian electricity grid. For instance, Belgium wants to build additional joint interconnections with Great Britain and Denmark. These interconnections will give access to the massive amounts of renewable energy that are needed to make the industry less dependent on fossil fuels in the short term.
Developed by Elia Transmission Belgium, the project is being built by TM Edison, a consortium including DEME and Jan De Nul.
Also read: Jan De Nul to connect artificial energy island to Belgian grid
Direct current and alternating current
The Princess Elisabeth Island will be the world’s first artificial energy island that combines both direct current (HVDC) and alternating current (HVAC). The island’s high-voltage infrastructure will bundle the wind farm export cables of the Princess Elisabeth zone together, whilst also serving as a hub for future interconnectors with Great Britain (Nautilus) and Denmark (TritonLink).
These so-called “hybrid interconnectors” have a dual function and are therefore more efficient. They facilitate the exchange of electricity between countries and are also connected with gigantic offshore wind farms in the North Sea that will in due course provide Belgium with large volumes of renewable energy.
Picture: Still from the video by DEME above.
