DIOL

Motivation

The German government has set ambitious goals for the expansion of renewable energy and has raised its offshore targets, including for the production of green hydrogen. Ports in particular play a crucial role in the necessary expansion of offshore wind power in Europe. However, the ambitious offshore expansion targets (including 30GW by 2030 in Germany) face limited port capacities. Without an expansion of capacities and stronger cooperation between European offshore port locations, the energy turnaround can therefore hardly be managed. Belgium, Germany, Denmark, France and the Netherlands have recognized this challenge and joined forces in the international research project DIOL (Develop Innovative Offshore Logistic).

Project Goal

The DIOL project supports the international goal to transform the North Sea as Europe's green power plant and thus plays a central role in the development of a transnational offshore renewable energy system. Not only will the project strengthen cooperation and collaboration between ports, it will also test practical logistics solutions and innovative approaches for supplying offshore wind farms in the North Sea (e.g. via drones). Given the ambitious goals, DIOL aims to accelerate the expansion process by establishing forward-looking and resilient logistics chains across countries and supporting the infrastructure providers involved.

Implementation

The various partners in the logistics hubs will work with relevant stakeholders to identify existing challenges in the logistics chain. A key component of this will be to develop common processes, facilities (infrastructure) and technologies (air, sea and land transport) to leverage synergies, ensuring that common standards provide cross-country connectivity for projects. Closer cooperation between the sites will also actively work on the necessary new framework conditions for offshore development. This will provide a valuable basis for improved cooperation throughout the offshore wind value chain and actively contribute to the energy transition.