Best Innovation Award: A look at the nominees

On October 7, the Offshore Energy Opening Gala Dinner and Awards show will be taking place at the Amsterdome in Amsterdam. Let’s take a closer look at the nominees for the Best Innovation Award.

The event offers not only a culinary dinner and live entertainment, but also celebrates the successes within the industry by presenting three awards. The nominees were recently announced.  These are the nominees for the Best Innovation Award.

• DEME Offshore

CIS System

The CIS is a cable installation system, able  to install cable in an completely new and innovative way, whereby it minimizes the risk on product damage, increases the vessels workability, and improves production rates.

The impact of the system is estimated to increase IAC cable installation from average just over 1 cable per day in a project to well over 2, allowing to double the amount of cables to be installed by the vessel with reduced risks.

A world first and a major construction milestone was reached at Ørsted’s Hornsea Project One offshore wind farm in the UK when Tideway completed the export cable installation.

With an offshore export cable totaling 467 km, roughly the same distance as Amsterdam to Hamburg, it is the longest AC offshore wind cable ever to have been installed. Additionally, the cable manufacturing and installation were completed months ahead of schedule.

• Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy GmbH & Co. KG

Electric Thermal Energy Storage

Due to the regionally uneven distribution of renewable energies, an increased grid expansion is necessary. An alternative is a suitable energy storage, which enables the base load capability of renewable energies and increases grid stability.

In times of high generation of renewable energies, in which the grid reaches its capacity limits, renewable energy plants are switched off by the feed-in management of the grid operator. Accordingly, Electric Thermal Energy Storage Technology (ETES helps to use renewable energies as efficiently as possible. The aim ETES is to advance the energy transition.

The core of the ETES technology is the innovative solid heat storage based on natural volcanic rocks. In summary, the storage material offers advantages in terms of global availability, costs and reliability. The heat to charge the storage can either be generated via an electrical resistance heater or removed directly from an existing heat process.

In addition, ETES not only increases the flexibility of conventional steam-power processes, but also the conversion of conventional power plants into emission-free energy storage systems,

• IHC IQIP

PULSE

IHC IQIP has developed Pulse, this new innovation reduces the noise level significantly during pile driving operations and ensures an environmental friendly installation.

The system is positioned between piling hammer and sleeve. During current piling operations the impact of the ram weight on the anvil generates a very high and short impact characteristic which results in high level underwater noise affecting the marine wildlife.

Pulse, however, dampens the impact and noise with two hydraulic plungers. The volume in between the plungers can be filled with water (even during pile driving) which controls the impact characteristic reducing noise by the source.