Aegir Insights’ WindEurope 2023 side event: Can tech tame the North Sea?

A big thank you from Aegir Insights to everyone who participated in our WindEurope side-event Wednesday afternoon to discuss the central question: Can tech tame the North Sea?

With a phenomenal panel consisting of Olga Noskova from Topsoe, Katherine Dykes from DTU Wind and Energy Systems, Damien Zachlod from EnBW Generation UK, Markus Laukamp from WindGrid and our own Scott Urquhart, we got as close to an answer to that question as possible!

Darius Snieckus moderated the debate and guided the conversation through important topics such as Power-to-X, new offshore grid solutions, energy system integration and offshore wind development in the rapidly evolving North Sea 3.0 energy basin.

The debate brought several interesting insights:

• For power-to-X projects, and the offshore wind projects planning to supply power to these projects, it’s necessary to look at the establishment of a value chain all the way to the end-consumers.
• Energy system research should not be done in separate silos but rather as one combined area.
• Future offshore grid solutions will be large, complex and have long lead times. For the infrastructure to be ready in time, decisions need to be made soon and here it’s important to look at benefits in the context of the green transition, energy security and society in general.
• Technologies are continuously developing, so the current understanding of what is technically feasible will change.
• Data and modelling will play a crucial role in understanding all the factors affecting future renewable energy projects.

Everyone agreed that collaboration and risk-sharing throughout the value chain will be needed towards realizing the ambitious targets for the North Sea 3.0.

We hope to see many of our partners and clients at future Aegir Insights events!