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Ørsted: Innovating to Create a World that Runs Entirely on Green Energy
We were once one of Europe’s most coal-intensive energy companies. Today, we’re one of the world’s most sustainable energy companies and a global leader in the green energy transition.
But we’re not stopping there.
We are constantly innovating so that we can create the green energy systems of tomorrow and achieve our vision: a world that runs entirely on green energy.
Offshore wind pioneers
Innovation has been a critical part of our DNA from the start. Since pioneering the world’s first offshore wind farm more than 30 years ago, we have helped take offshore wind power from a demonstration concept to industrial scale.
Today we’ve built more wind farms at sea than any other company worldwide with 10.2 GW of offshore wind installed globally.
We produce enough electricity from our UK offshore wind farms to power the seven largest cities in Great Britain outside London with clean, reliable, homegrown energy.
Innovating to stay competitive
One of the reasons that’s possible is because all along the way we’ve harnessed cutting-edge technology to make offshore wind more affordable, reliable, efficient, and sustainable.
We take careful consideration into prioritising our resources across different time horizons. Some activities target shorter term improvements to our existing business. Others are more transformation and could completely disrupt how we work or add entirely new strands to our business, so we remain competitive into the future.
We have innovation teams that work across commercial themes, digital technologies, engineering disciplines, environmental topics, as well as operations and maintenance. Internally we have extensive science and engineering expertise, as well as the tool kits to commercialise new technology.
But we also know we can’t do it alone. Through a wealth of partnerships with universities, research institutes, start-ups and our supply chain, we’re constantly trying to bring the best ideas from the lab to the field.
Innovating to enhance environmental sustainability
The conventional method of pile-driving to install monopiles for offshore wind turbines can be extremely noisy and disruptive to marine life. We set out to create a different, less obtrusive, more environmentally friendly installation method.
We created an alternative that reduces underwater noise levels to a level just above the natural background noise – and enables cost savings.
The novel monopile installation method called “Osonic” uses a jetting technology that reduces the soil’s resistance to penetration, enabling foundations to sink more quietly into the seabed with minimal impact on marine life.
We tested the technology at our Gode Wind 3 Offshore Wind Farm in Germany, and it resulted in a substantial decrease in underwater noise levels compared to conventional pile-driving. Noise levels were reduced by over 99 % to a level just above the ambient noise found in the German Bight in the North Sea.
An image of Osonic, Ørsted's low-noise jetting-based monopile installation method, in action. Credit: Ørsted
Osonic was awarded the “German Sustainability Award” in the product category this October. The jury highlighted that this innovation “shows how the expansion of renewable energy and the protection of biodiversity can go hand in hand, setting new benchmarks as a potential standard for sustainable offshore wind projects worldwide.”
The technology is now moving into a commercial phase. We recently signed an agreement with German energy infrastructure asset manager Luxcara; the company plans on using the installation method across its offshore wind portfolio in Germany.
Patrick Harnett, Executive Vice President and Chief Construction Officer at Ørsted, said the agreement with Luxcara demonstrates our strong track record of innovation as well as Osonic’s potential.
“As a leading developer of offshore wind, we’re proud to extend our technology services to third parties. This supports the further build-out of offshore wind,” said Patrick. He added that this “further enables the deployment of offshore wind as an affordable, reliable, and secure resource.”
Innovating to upgrade surveys
Another recent innovation we developed is the autonomous, uncrewed surface vessel (USV) for offshore surveying.
A hybrid of a vessel and a buoy, the Ørsted USV can sail uncrewed while being monitored from an onshore control room. Upon arrival to a measurement site, an integrated anchor system is deployed, essentially turning the USV into a buoy that can collect data.
The USV has undergone rigorous testing in harsh Danish and Norwegian waters and is operable in sea conditions with wave heights up to 9 metres. This allows us to collect more data than ever before, while lowering health and safety risks – as well as costs.
It’s another example of technology that can not only advance our own offshore wind projects but can help the whole industry.
Innovating to improve safety and efficiency
We have also started deploying large drones to transport heavy cargo to offshore wind turbines as a way of enhancing health, safety and reducing costs.
This past summer, we started using large drones to carry equipment weighing up to 70 kg – the equivalent of a washing machine – to the top of 100-meter-tall wind turbines, 75 miles out at sea, to service Hornsea 1 & 2, currently the world’s largest offshore wind farms.
By deploying drones instead of people to make deliveries to turbines offshore, it allows us to reduce travel risks and costs for our personnel, as well as improve operational safety and efficiency.
In addition, by minimising the need for journeys by ship, we’re reducing carbon emissions and climate change impacts.
Harnessing innovation to speed up the green energy transition
Innovation comes in all shapes and sizes. At Ørsted, we’re always looking for ways to reduce costs, maximise efficiency, enhance safety and diminish our environmental impact.
By constantly innovating, we are helping to build the future energy system.
Making offshore wind more affordable, safer and sustainable for ourselves, and the wider industry, gets us all one step closer to a world that runs entirely on green energy.
Alex Louden, Head of UK&IE Innovation Hub, Ørsted