Skip to content

Kiel shipyard wants to start building converter platforms

Converter platforms are technical powerhouses for wind farms on the high seas. They are needed for the energy transition. A shipyard in Kiel also wants to get involved in production. But the Minister of Economic Affairs has even bigger visions.

Two cranes and several shipbuilding halls can be seen in Kiel. Photo.aussiedlerbote.de
Two cranes and several shipbuilding halls can be seen in Kiel. Photo.aussiedlerbote.de

Shipbuilding - Kiel shipyard wants to start building converter platforms

The Kiel shipyard German Naval Yards wants to enter the construction of converter platforms. "We have developed a concept where we say we can build a series of platforms here at our factory site," said the shipyard's managing director, Rino Brugge, on Thursday.

He expects the number of jobs at the shipyard to double or even triple from the current 400. In order to enter series production, not only partners are needed, but also more skilled workers.

Schleswig-Holstein's Minister of Economic Affairs Claus Ruhe Madsen (CDU) also visited the shipyard to gain an impression of the site. He emphasized that German Naval Yards has a very realistic assessment of the situation and is positioning itself to be able to take on some of the large orders.

"We, as Germany, must now understand that we will have to upgrade many shipyards for this," explained the Minister. It is an opportunity for the shipyards on the North and Baltic Seas.

The state's Maritime Coordinator, Andreas Burmester, also believes that the construction of the converter platforms will enable the shipyards in the state to work together in a completely new way: "There will be much more cooperation, it will be easier and more natural to coordinate than to begrudge the other the so-called black under the fingernails."

In the converter platforms, the electricity from various wind turbines at sea is bundled and converted into direct current for onward transmission to the coast with as little loss as possible. According to the German government, 33 platforms are expected to be needed for the German market alone between 2026 and 2045, each costing up to two billion euros. There is currently only one large production site in Spain.

Read also:

Source: www.stern.de

Comments

Latest