LIVE BLOG: Offshore Energy and Navingo Career 2020 Events

October 28, 2020, by Zlatan Hrvacevic

17:00 It’s a wrap!

Coert van Zijll Langhout, Managing Director of Navingo BV, and Anne Visser, Director of Operations at Navingo BV, in the company of our event moderator Eva Brouwer, have closed the Offshore Energy 2020 and Navingo Career 2020 events.

After two days packed with interesting sessions, talk shows, interviews, and even more interesting expert speakers, it is safe to say our first virtual edition was a success.

Although the current situation did not allow for the usual face-to-face exhibition and conference, and although we miss a crowded event floor and conference halls – the virtual edition offered some new opportunities we haven’t had before.

Live chats, Q&A options, Matchmaking platform and other virtual “goodies” made this event exactly what we hoped for: a place to attend and participate without constraints.

We hope to see you next year at Offshore Energy and Navingo Career events at the RAI Amsterdam.

16:30 Online Pub Quiz

Get your drinks ready, the Online Pub Quiz is starting!

Organised by Young IRO, the quiz, now in its second edition, will pit you against other offshore energy professionals in a battle of wits.

And the prizes are said to be even better than the last time.

16:00 Crash course – teaming up with start-ups & scale-ups

Sereina Bal from Buccaneer hosted another session valuble for start-up, with perspectives shared from the angle of start-ups and scale-ups, but established offshore energy players as well.

Tom Milder, Managing Engineering & Innovation at Jumbo, Karel Roozen, Business Development Next Ocean, and Jonas Brendelberger from zepp.solutions, shared their experiences and views on new companies in the sector and especially using new technogies.

Some of the companies in the offshore energy sector are still conservative when it comes to opting to use new technologies, but they are not hard to reach to. Even if parts of the industry are more conservative, the people there might not be, according to our speakers from companies offering new solutions in the energy market.

Introducing new technology and other new solutions to the market involves testing, validation, showcasing it and then offering it for use.

Some technologies are more easily accepted as they bring new solutions to longstanding issues or alignment with the current push to lower emissions. Still, there are also technologies that are harder to be accepted and positioned in the offshore energy market. Here, enthusiastic people who help tweak and scale the technology, and move it to acceptance by the market are crucial.

From the perspective of an established offshore energy player, Tom Milder from Jumbo said that even though they are not in the start-up mentality, they reach out to new talents which ends up with several innovations in Jumbo per year. Milder compared his company’s strategy in this area with football scouts who are constantly looking for new talent to refresh the team, just as Jumbo scouts the market to find which new developments are suitable for its way of working.

15:50 Maritime Officer Studies – Hogeschool Amsterdam

The Amsterdam student association Nautis (A SV Nautis) is an association for the Maritime Officer students at the University of Applied Sciences Amsterdam.

The goal of A SV Nautis is to create a network connecting students in the Maritime Officer programme during their studies and beyond once they enter the labour market.

The association aims to create a network of broadly oriented students who can be deployed worldwide in the maritime industry after graduation.

Connor Kos, Treasurer and Webmaster of A SV Nautis, joined the Offshore Energy and the Navingo Career event to talk about his experiences as he prepares to take on the high seas and to inspire the next generation of young people to choose this profession and to join the association.

15:15 The key to a successful energy transition

Joining us today for one of many Energy Talks is Mark Paalvast, Co-founder & Technical Manager at MO4, to talk about keys to a successful energy transition and what they are doing to contribute.

Paalvast sees the North Sea as the energy hub of the future and to make offshore renewable energy competitive we need everyone onboard.

He believes renewables are a different animal compared to oil and gas, highlighting that grand days of this industry are almost over.

At MO4 they are working on how to optimise offshore operations.

The transformation towards more sustainable energy production is having a marked impact on the offshore sector, with a growing focus on ensuring more sustainable operations.

Sustainability is revealing itself as a source of competitive advantage and for organisations to gain this advantage, it is important to incorporate the most up to date knowledge and technology available.

The MO4 technology aims to help the industry improve safety records, reduce CO2 emissions, increase workability and enhance overall project performance.

The MO4 software gathers data from a number of locations and Paalvast believes that industry need to come together when it comes to sharing data, and he invites the industry to join forces and take the next step in challenging industry-wide projects.

15:15 Career Development in a Changing World – Skills Session

Preparing for a labour market requires a fair amount of reflection and introspection, according to Hester Lentz, Career Coach and HR Advisor.

There are a number of questions, some quite existential, one needs to answer in order to find or define an ideal position for themselves.

Living in an increasingly digitalized and automated world, routine, repetitive jobs will be done by robots in the future, Lentz said.

However, people skills such as creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, ethics, and empathy, still cannot be emulated by AI so it is important to focus on developing those skills in the current and the future labour market.

On a more practical side, Lentz shared several tips and tricks on how to make your job applications stand out.

The video of this presentation will be available shortly.

15:00 Offshore energy start-ups need strong network – A chat at the Energy Plaza

Following the session on the fresh ideas that could help tackle the challenges in the offshore energy sector, Eva Brouwer hosted the moderator Seriena Bal, Managing Director at Buccaneer, at the Energy Plaza.

Sereina Bal presented in more detail on the work Buccaneer does for start-ups in the sector as a scale-up company offering accelerator programmes. Among other things, Bal highlighted the importance of having support from businesses already involved in your sector.

Successful entrepreneurs with today renowned companies had a strong network that supported their growth, and that is what Buccaneer is doing for offshore energy start-ups.

The company can be contacted at any time for checking out the opportunities, Sereina Bal noted, adding that the company will issue a call early next year, when start-ups will be invited to submit their applications.

14:30 Fresh Ideas for New Challenges

Digitalisation is taking over all parts of almost all industries and, as much as it has successfully become a part of the offshore energy sector, there are still some big steps to be taken to install and operate offshore infrastructure in a smart way.

This is according to our speakers at the Fresh Ideas for New Challenges talk show, hosted at the Offshore Energy 2020 virtual event by Seriena Bal, Managing Director at Buccaneer.

Matti Basan, Sales Manager Offshore Cranes at Liebherr-Components, Eric van Genuchten, Chief Operating Officer at Sensing360, and Jelte Kymmell, General Manager at Mocean, all agreed on the importance of digitalisation and using data in tackling both the current and upcoming challenges in the offshore energy industry.

However, while some of the industries in the sector such as offshore wind, already rely on the digitalised solution, this is mostly true for the maintenance part of the operations.

According to Jelte Kymmell, marine operations such as installation, and throughout the entire industry, need to work “a bit smarter” by digitalizing.

Working smarter also means basing project planning and calculations on data from different areas that apply to the project and, together with digitalization, realising and operating the projects with less risk involved.

13:45 Waste Not Want Not – The role of Fossils Fuels during the energy transition

Julian Manning, CEO of Paradigm Group has joined our Energy Talks today to share his insights on how we can improve on energy loss during its actual production and what role fossil fuels will play for energy transition.

Manning highlighted that energy waste is potentially the biggest source of energy during the current transition and by eliminating that factor we can do one of the most important things.

Fossil fuels should be the key player to power our transition to the next phase of cleaner and more efficient energy.

Therefore, it is important that oil & gas better represents itself on how its contributing to energy transition.

When it comes to transitioning, he still says that there is a long way to get there and we need to use fossil fuels more considerably.

We are using a lot of energy recovering it and we need to work on improvements when it comes to energy ratained and energy invested.

Manning will join our event moderator Eva Brouwer at the Energy Plaza for a Q&A session.

13:35 Talent for Water and Energy – Dutch Wavemakers

Dutch Wavemakers gathers athletes, students, and young professionals to create awareness about the importance of water, energy, and climate change worldwide.

The role of the athletes in the project is to raise awareness about the importance of water and clean energy through their social media platforms, Jelle Westra, a Dutch Wavemaker, said.

One such ambassador for the Dutch Water & Energy sector is Rick Jendrusch, a professional windsurfer and a Dutch Wavemaker who offered his insights during the presentation.

One of the main visions of the Dutch Wavemakers is to inspire young people to choose professions within water management, sustainability, and environment, Westra said.

Another main goal of the project is to get young people to be enthusiastic about water sports.

12:45 Tales of the North Sea

The North Sea is not only a part but the leader of the energy transition.

This is according to a talk show Tales of the North Sea, moderated by Julian Manning, CEO at Paradigm Group, who discussed the offshore energy sector in the North Sea with Sander Vergroesen, Managing Director at IRO, Chris Jones, Head of Business Development at Osbit, and Graham Hacon, Vice President Business Development Offshore Wind at Worley.

The energy transition is going on for a decade now and it will not stop in a year, so it becomes an area where players from the oil and gas industry and renewable energy meet – as we move towards lowering our emissions as much as possible. However, this move needs to be done in a realistic way, recognizing the role oil and gas play now, and building on it with renewable energy and new energy infrastructure such as hydrogen and CCS.

In the North sea, opportunities outside oil and gas are massive for the offshore energy supply chain, from offshore wind which is – in terms of offshore renewables – by far the biggest market now, all the way to green and blue hydrogen, as well as sector coupling. These great next generation technologies will need to be supported by great innovation and equipment, according to the speakers.

12:35 The Young Port Talent (Jong Haventalent)

The Young Port Association (Jong Havenvereniging) is on the lookout for the Young Port Talent (Jong Haventalent), a flagship person and an ambassador for the port industry in Rotterdam.

The Young Port Association is a business network for young maritime, logistics, and port professionals in and around the Port of Rotterdam.

The association gathers over 500 members and is the largest network for young individuals working in the port industry, Tara van de Lagemaat, member of the Young Port Association, said.

‘’Being the Young Port Talent and joining the Young Port Association opens many doors for you,’’ van de Lagemaat said.

The Young Port Talent has been selected annually since 2009. The position is intended for committed and talented young people who perform their work in the port with passion and enthusiasm.

If you or somebody you know is deserving of being the next Young Port Talent, you can go here to submit your nomination.

Three of the nominated candidates will be shortlisted for the position on 5 November. They will then be given a month to collect as many votes as possible via social media.

The Young Port Talent 2021 will then be announced during the Day of the Harbor on Wednesday, 16 December.

The Young Port Talent Foundation is a partnership of the Young Port Association, Watertalent, LINK, and the Port of Rotterdam Authority.

The Young Port Talent (Jong Haventalent)

12:00 Leadership in Changing Times

Hannes Leroy, Associate Professor, RSM Erasmus University took to the virtual stage of Offshore Energy Exhibition and Conference 2020 to discuss the necessities for successful transition leadership, something close to the current energy transition.

Leroy noted that the competencies needed for an effective change-oriented leader are numerous, and increasingly confusing with new books and guides on leadership change emerging every minute. To distill a large number of competencies into the bare essence, Leroy and his team have established a compass that aims to help leaders be effective.

A compass covering seemingly simple traits of an effective leader that should be task-oriented, change-oriented, relations-oriented and ethics-oriented at the same time. While these traits cover larger fields, the essence is to know What you are doing, who are you doing it with, and for whom, why, and how.

The keys are being able to get the task done with the management being the basis of what is the aim of the transition. Leaders themselves have to be capable of embracing change and also be capable of framing the change for specific people as we are naturally prone to resisting change.

An effective transition leader is also someone capable of dealing with the moral dilemmas of a change, making sure the change is a positive one and will lead to further positive results.

11:50 Pushing the limits in heavy lifting – Chat at the Energy Plaza

Mathieu Moerman, Head of Marine Projects at SAL Heavy Lift had a quick chat with our event moderator Eva Brouwer at the Energy Plaza.

Cranes are currently the area where the limit needs to pushed for the transport and installation vessels to handle larger components in offshore wind.The weight lifting capacity, in combination with the height of a crane unit, are where solutions for future vessels need to be focused.

According to Mathieu Moerman, currently thinking out of the box is bearing fruit in bringing new solutions, such as taking the hook off to gain more height.

Foundation optimisation with TP-less foundations is another offshore wind area where new approaches could increase efficiency, whereby one vessel installs the foundation and smaller vessels then install secondary steel equipment, such as ladders.

In terms of the vessels themselves, client demand is also including green shipping initiatives, so SAL is looking to employ this aspect into its business model too, according to Moerman.

11:15 Size Does Matter: Heavy Lifting

Mathieu Moerman, Head of Marine Projects at SAL Heavy Lift, Wouter van den Bos, CEO at SDC Verifier, and Rene Nijhuis, Global Account Manager at Roll Group have discussed the heavy lifting industry at a live talk show hosed by Robert Plat, Principal Consultant Offshore at Royal IHC.

The offshore energy sector, especially with wind farms and their components getting bigger and bigger, is pushing the limits almost on a daily basis. Given this fact, Robert Plat asked our speakers about the solutions their companies employ to tackle the changes in these sector.

Wouter van den Bos said the solutions come in enhancing current equipment as one part of the equation, and the other part are smart solutions such as SDC’s recently released optimisation tool that does the work engineers would usually do, but the tool now does it for them so engineers could focus on their main tasks. Solutions such as having „digital twin“ technology are an advantage, as having a digital twin of the equipment makes it easier to determine what can be done with which part of equipment.

According to Rene Nijhuis, Roll Group is looking at solutions to optimise shipping and to meet client demand with the upcoming offshore wind market developments, whereas the solutions the company is working on would enable serving the offshore energy sector, including both offshore wind and oil and gas, in an efficient way.

According to Mathieu Moerman, the demand for offshore wind and subsequently client demand in that sector are increasing with turbines and foundations getting larger. While heavy lifting and transport companies’ vessels are reaching the limits, there are advantages in faster vessels. With cargo lifting, SAL is looking into optimising the cranes, as well as making the hooks optimised in a project-specific way.

11:15 Oceans Powering the Energy Transition: Progress Through Innovative Business Models

Energy Talks continued today with Francisco Boshell, Renewable Energy Markets and Standards Analyst, IRENA.

Boshell shared his views on the role of oceans as a sustainable resource supporting the global energy transition.

According to Boshell, offshore renewables are the key to reach our climate and sustainable goals, highlighting offshore wind, but also some 100GW potentially coming from ocean energy by 2050.

He presented different types and the status of ocean energy technologies as well as the needed actions to reach wide commercialisation.

IRENA, which is set to publish its Ocean Energy report on 1 December, believes that when it comes to ocean energy OTEC and wave power have the highest potential and could easily cover the global electricity demand.

Boshell also shed light on promising revenue support mechanisms and innovative business models and job opportunities in the offshore renewables sectors, which cloud reach approximately 6 million by 2050.

10:40 Focusing on marine energy future – A chat at the Energy Plaza

At the Energy Plaza, Pieter Hack of REDstack and the Marine Energy Ambassador of Ocean Energy Europe and a member of DMEC Sander des Tombe discussed the potential of marine energy, put a spotlight on their ambitions for the future.

Hack described his company’s goal of developing and commercialising the reverse electrodialysis technology. Its pilot plant currently powers only several households but in the upcoming phases, Hack said, that that number could rise to as high as 12 per cent of total Dutch electricity needs.

He also stated that cooperation is key and that all companies, as well as countries, are “brothers in arms” and that without it large-scale development would not be possible. Hack also stated that cooperation is needed not only within the marine energy companies but across the entire offshore energy sector.

des Tombe added that his focus with DMEC is more policy minded and that their aim is to support companies with locations for their projects, accelerator projects, and funds.

10:30 The Global Offshore Wind Market – Recent trends and expectations

Jon Dugstad, Director Wind and Solar at the Norwegian Energy Partners (NORWEP) led a live ZOOM Energy talk at our event, discussing the global offshore wind market and how it could look over the next decade and in the future.

There is volume increase in offshore wind and its growing even further over the near future with emerging markets and the existing ones out of Europe gaining momentum – with costs continuing to the downward trend, according to Dugstad, who referred to NORWEP’s report done in cooperation with RCG.

According to the Global Offshore Wind: Annual Market Report, China will be leading the Asian offshore wind market, especially as it brings forward its five-year plan early next year. Adding to this, new markets will boost the increase in the global offshore wind volume, such as Brazil, Australia, and Vietnam, and potentially those where interest has been shown recently, such as Italy, Greece, and Azerbaijan.

There is currently 211.9 GW of offshore wind in development, and although not all of it will be realised, this is immense capacity, Jon Dugstad said.

Into the next decade, the EU will still be the base of the offshore wind industry, even though Asia is moving forward quickly, where China will be at the top.

10:30 Installing a Miniature Offshore Wind Farm – Skills Session with DOB-Academy

Created by DOB-Academy, this online game is designed to see if you have what it takes to be an offshore wind developer.

In this Skills Session, participants were divided into teams representing companies interested in building an offshore wind farm.

Using the knowledge from a short lecture given in advance, the teams designed and planned the optimal wind farm and installation strategy.

In the second phase of the case, after teams were faced with dilemmas based on the amount of risk taken, the wind farms were built within the given time frame and budget.

09:45 Marine Goes Green

Day 2 of our virtual event started off with talks on green technologies in the shipping industry.

Robert Plat, Principal Consultant Offshore at Royal IHC, welcomed industry expert speakers Giedo Loeff, Team Leader R&D at Feadship, Harry Linskens, Naval Architect at DEKC Maritime, and our own Jaap Proost – Content Creator & Strategist at Navingo.

The participants discussed the importance for maritime companies to invest in green technologies and what is actually ‘Green Marine’ and where does it stand now.

Speakers initially touched base on how their companies managed the Covid-19 situation.

The talks evolved with getting ship design to the next 20-30 years as well as flexibility and how to adopt different types of ship engines and fuels.

The views were shared on what are the next steps to address the energy transition today in order to prepare for the future.

9:30 – Day 2 of Offshore Energy and Navingo Career events kicks off

The second day of Navingo’s Offshore Energy and Career events has started with an opening talk by Anne Visser, Director of Operations at Navingo, who looked back on the first day (27 October) saying the virtual edition showed to be full of exciting topics.

When it comes to the Navingo Career 2020 event, skills sessions gave insights of what is currently happening in the industry, the impact of COVID-19 on the industry but on employment within it as well, and input from various speakers on recruitment itself.

It was also nice to have the Innovation Award winner Daniel Buhagiar, FLASC Founder and CEO, on the spot at the RAI Exhibition Centre, and also to enable this year for the audience to vote for the nominees, along with the jury.

The events’ virtual options are allowing for more interactivity, Anne Visser said, adding that she had a chance to meet some of our visitors through the chat carousel and the matchmaking tool.

The digital platform is also an opportunity to make the event more convenient to visitors out of the CET time zone to join in, with people from Mexico joining our platform later, for example, which is a nice option to have, Anne Visser said.

8: 50 – The second day of the virtual Offshore Energy 2020 and Navingo Career 2020 events are about to start.

Tune in at 9:30 and attend one of the leading energy events from the cosiness of your home!

17:05 Wrap Up Day 1

The first day of the Offshore Energy 2020 and Navingo Career 2020 is a wrap! After a plethora of important and interesting topics and many expert speakers, we continue tomorrow, 28 October, at the same place. Stay tuned!

16.30 …. and the award for best innovation goes to … FLASC B.V.

The first day of the virtual edition of Offshore Energy 2020 is coming to a close with the award ceremony. The Best Innovation Award highlights the best innovation in the entire offshore energy market in the last two years (2019 and 2020).

Our jury of industry experts, business executives and academics, as well as the votes cast by the general public, selected the Dutch start-up FLASC as the overall winner for its hydro-pneumatic energy storage system.

FLASC’s energy storage technology, tailored for offshore applications, is primarily intended for short- to medium-term energy storage in order to convert an intermittent source of renewable power into a smooth and predictable supply.

The solution addresses a fundamental problem related to the integration of large-scale renewable energy production into conventional energy systems: the mismatch between energy supply and demand.

The award was accepted by FLASC Founder and CEO Daniel Buhagiar.

Other nominees for the Best Innovation Award were Siemens Gamesa for Active Filtering, and Van Oord for Slip Joint Connection which both presented their innovations before the winner was unveiled.

16:00 Infrastructure might be ‘the new gold’, but mind the gap

The final Energy talk for the first day of the Offshore Energy 2020 virtual event encompassed more than one industry and more than one aspect.

Lex de Groot, Managing Director at Neptune Energy, pointed out that offshore will be the place to reach the goal of no-emissions, green energy world such as harnessing offshore renewable energy and using it to power the production of green hydrogen.

To be able to utilise the infrastructure as best as possible, wind farms should be built close to the hydrogen production infrastructure, and existing infrastructure that sits on depleting resources makes for a good location to facilitate carbon capture and storage (CCS) offshore.

CCS, hydrogen and system integration are essential parts of the energy transition, according to Lex de Groot.

15:15 Search & Change

Geert-Jan Joosten, Partner at Search & Change, joined us today to talk about the impact of COVID-19 on the labour market and the changes in job perspectives as well as his career path.

As a headhunter with a track record in mediating people with a technical background in senior management positions, Joosten shared his vision on the social importance of deploying people with a technical background in sectors other than those initially trained.

He also discussed the extent to which people are receptive to new technology and are able to continue to communicate with new generations.

Joosten offered pointers on how to further develop leadership skills, focussing on positive attitude, listening skills, solutions and being present and also where to learn those skills faster.

We also saw him talk about where to start when you get yourself out there on the job market and what to look for.

Joosten wrapped up with a message that people should choose organisations that fit their personality, being that a start-up, scale-up or mature company and when making a career change to stay in touch with younger generations.

15:15 UK and the Offshore Energy in the North Sea

Chris Fox, Head of Europe and Offshore at the UK Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, was the speaker at this Energy Talk session.

According to him, offshore wind is set to continue to play a large role in UK’s net-zero ambitions and the country has previously announced that it would be increasing its offshore wind capacity to 40 GW by 2030.

Fox stated that 48 billion pounds of capital investment would be required to achieve this feat and one turbine to be installed per weekday throughout the 2020s.

As a major challenge Fox pointed towards onshore connections of wind farms which, at the moment, each have their own and, in turn, offshore transmission and coordination between wind farm operators presents a major challenge for the UK.

In an attempt to tackle that issue, the UK published its Offshore Transmission Network Review in the summer. A review looked at how the offshore transmission network is designed and delivered, consistent with the ambition to deliver net-zero emissions by 2050.

To improve, the current point-to-point transmission approach must change through coordination between wind farm operators or other elements like offshore cables, oil and gas operators, etc.

If the connection of wind farms to the offshore is done by way of coordination, infrastructure savings can rise as high as 6 billion pounds. Another aspect of coordination and cooperation is on an international level and Fox gave an example of Denmark and Germany already working this way. The final coordination component for reaching net-zero in the UK is cross-sector coordination which includes the production of green hydrogen, decreasing oil and gas, increasing the number of carbon capture and storage projects as well as sharing expertise.

On the topic of the EU exit, Fox stated that Great Britain cannot reach its goals without the EU and that the EU cannot reach its goals without Great Britain. In order to increase international cooperation and coordination, Fox said that the UK would be starting a programme of engagement with North Sea neighbours – starting with the Netherlands on 29 October. The UK will be continuing with talks with other North Sea neighbours and it would all culminate in an event which will be held in March 2021 to share knowledge, output, and learnings.

13:45 Unlocking the full potential of the North Sea

Joris Koornneef was the speaker for the next Energy Talk. He discussed how to create an inclusive portfolio of different eco-friendly technologies to reach both the carbon emission reduction targets set by the Paris Agreement and by the Government of the Netherlands.

Koornneef reminded that the North Sea was already a very important energy region, especially in the oil and gas industry and the offshore wind industry which is slowly catching up. He noted that hydrogen, along with carbon capture and storage initiatives are now also being developed in the region.

He also spoke of the North Sea Energy Programme – with 30 partners involved in the programme – which is exploring innovations of the future.

The key element of the programme, according to Koornneef, is an integrated approach to the offshore energy portfolio. Studies have shown that benefits can be achieved if various energy functions, such as wind, hydrogen, and natural gas are linked.

Such smart connections reduce carbon emissions, reduce costs, as well as makes effective use of offshore space and accelerate the energy transition. He believes that such an approach will put the North Sea on the map as a pioneering region for the European energy transition.

Some of the ways, Koornneef said, that would accelerate this would be the creation of offshore hubs and spinoffs from other energy projects like production of hydrogen from the PosHYdon project using the existing offshore infrastructure.

The PosHYdon project aims to integrate three energy systems in the North Sea: offshore wind, offshore gas, and offshore hydrogen by producing hydrogen from seawater on Neptune Energy’s Q13-a platform in the Dutch North Sea.

12:45 Future of Energy Transition

Peter Scheijgrond from MET-support led a very interesting talk show at our event today, hosting Sicco Kamminga, Director at Nortek BV, Daniel Buhagiar, CEO FLASC B.V., and Willem van Leeuwen, Project Manager Services Damen.

Next-generation solutions in the offshore energy sector, along with the energy production infrastructure itself, include Damen’s new virtual platform, Nortek’s acoustic doppler, and FLASC’s storage device.

The solutions are aimed to bring advantage and help with existing obstacles, especially in the offshore renewables industries, as the energy transition moves forward.

From Nortek’s technology, tidal energy is one of the areas that can benefit and already have as the company has cooperated with tidal turbine developers. FLASC sees a wide-spanning market for the use of its storage solutions, mainly in offshore wind as one of the biggest offshore renewable energy industries.

In terms of installation and other vessels that support the offshore energy sector, Damen’s virtual solution brings benefits to vessel operators and, among other things in the closer future, the company sees artificial intelligence and machine learning as something that will be part of the business as usual.

12:00 The Promise of Offshore Floating Solar

Content-packed virtual Offshore Energy 2020 event is progressing with talks on offshore floating solar technologies.

Brigitte Vlaswinkel, research and offshore operations director at Dutch-based Oceans of Energy, shared her vision on the promise of offshore floating solar systems based on the results from their successful North Sea trials.

Vlaswinkel also showcased how their systems can be integrated with offshore wind and what potential it brings as well as environmental benefits.

Professor Wilfried van Sark from the University of Utrecht discussed the potential applications of solar energy technologies and performance differences between offshore and land-based photovoltaic (PV) systems.

He also detailed the challenges and advantages of offshore floating solar in real-life conditions and what kind of technologies could be used in future installations.

11:50 – Harness the power of water to solve our energy problems

More talks at the Energy Plaza. Our host talked with Peter Scheijgrond, Director of MET-support, which Eva Brouwer described as the “main marine energy man”.

During the short sit-down, Scheijgrond stated that power created by offshore wind and the sun must be used in order to reach environmental goals but added that harnessing the power of water would solve all our energy problems.

He further said that marine energy, as well as offshore wind, have to cooperate with oil and gas since most of the expertise still lies there and since many oil and gas operators are turning towards renewable sources.

When asked about which projects he was most excited about, he pointed out core power which has the potential to make marine energy more affordable.

“Best energy storage is the energy that does not need storage”, Scheijgrond said, referring to tidal energy which is independent of weather, unlike wind. He also said that at the moment the Netherlands has five tidal turbines in operating which are powering a 1,000 households.

11:15 – Marine Energy: The Next Big Thing in Energy

The moderator Peter Scheijgrond, Director at MET-Support, kicked off a talk show on marine energy as the next big thing in energy, with guest speakers Andries van Unen, CEO of Tocardo; Richard Parkinson, CEO of Inyanga-Tech; Patrik Möller, CEO of CorPower Ocean; and Kim Nielsen, Wave Energy Consultant at Ramboll.

The speakers discussed how marine energy fits in the future energy mix and the various possibilities available for the sector to complement other energy-generating technologies.

The focus was on the predictability of tidal and wave energy – and how that quality can balance other intermittent renewable energy resources such as offshore wind.

Andries van Unen spoke about small-scale tidal energy projects, and the possibility of integrating tidal energy plants into coastal and flood-defence barriers. Kim Nielsen also suggested the integration of wave energy into floating flood barriers, while Richard Parkinson spoke about floating tidal energy solutions and the production of hydrogen whereby ‘90% of risks and 50% of costs associated with subsea and dynamic cabling necessary for grid connection could be avoided if they were rerouted directly to establishing green hydrogen plants backed by tidal energy generation’.

11:00 Preparations for world champion solar boat team – A chat at the Energy Plaza

In a live interview via Zoom, a member of the 2019 World Championship winning TU Delft Solar Boat Team announced their plans for the upcoming race in Monaco in 2021 and the development of new technologies for the competitive solar racing boats as well as hydrogen-powered boats.

10:50 Taiwan the place to be – A chat at the Energy Plaza

At the Energy Plaza, host Eva Brouwer discussed safe rope access and gangway systems with Wijnand van Aalst, the CEO of Safeway. Mr. van Aalst talked about his company’s turn towards offshore wind using the example of DONG Energy – now Orsted.

He also talked about Taiwan being the place to be as companies and the government are investing in offshore wind and that Safeway can apply their experience from the North Sea to the Taiwanese offshore wind market.

9:45 The future of fair and bias-free recruitment

At a Navingo Career skills session at our first virtual event, hosted by Ivo Winkes, Partner LTP Online, and our Coco Kossmann, once again offshore wind – and especially the growing industry in the North Sea countries – got most of the attention, with recruitment drive rapidly increasing in this sector.

We saw a few presentations, such as from a Superintendant at Boskalis, and lots of success stories from the energy world. Videos showing the complexity of tasks and jobs offshore energy employees are skilled to take on paint quite a picture of what skills and expertise are needed.

9:45 Focus on Offshore Wind

The first live talk at the virtual Offshore Energy 2020 event talked about offshore wind, but not only that. As we move to a more clean-energy-oriented world, cross-market collaboration and system integration get more attention.

Moderated by Erwin Cooler, Owner at ECHT, the session hosted expert speakers Marcel van Bergen, Director Offshore Heavy Lifting at Boskalis, Wijnand van Aalst, CEO at Van Aalst, Benjamin Lehner, Business & Innovation Advisor at DMEC, Diederick Nierstrasz, Business Development Manager Wind at Ampelmann.

Our speakers gave an insight in the burning topics and issues of the offshore wind industry and the closely connected energy transition, with marine spatial planning and support from other offshore renewables as one of the main points in the way to move forward.

9:30 – Welcome to Offshore Energy 2020, Home of Energy Transition.

Our virtual exhibition and conference floor has just opened, with live conference sessions, showcase videos from our exhibitors, matchmaking programme – which seems to be attracting more people than expected – and many, many other features which you can access from the convenience of your home.

Bookmark this Live Blog page to stay tuned and follow the updates from conference sessions taking place throughout these two days!

Coert van Zijll Langhout, Managing Director of Navingo BV, and Anne Visser, Director of Operations at Navingo BV, just opened the event. Looking forward to seeing you all virtually!

With numerous Live Talk Shows, Show Cases, Energy Talks by experts, Live Interviews, Matchmaking, a digital Pub Quiz and lot more, this year’s edition promises to be an energetic, fruitful, and inspiring event, again.

Do you also want to be a part of this leading event? Register today!
Find your personal link to enter the event in your email.

Enough said about the challenges and limitations that covid poses to all of us and our industry. Much can be done –  especially online – to connect with your peers and have experts inform you about the latest ideas and technologies. At OEEC’s first virtual edition, all this and more is possible.

What to expect

OEEC creates the perfect opportunity for people working in the offshore energy industry to establish new business relationships and maintain existing ones.

You can expect plenty of interaction, information, presentations and innovations, lots of which will be live-streamed. Offshore Energy built a studio in RAI Amsterdam from which talk shows and discussions will be recorded and broadcasted.

Simultaneously, the Navingo Career Event also takes place online, presenting career opportunities in the maritime, offshore and energy sector. Participants can attend both virtual events.

Matchmaking

Meet, share knowledge and get to know each other with the Navingo Matchmaking programme. Every participant has free access to the basic features of this proven network tool. If you like it, you can upgrade to  Full Event Access  or even to  Year-Round Access, so you can keep networking long after the event.