Comfortable access to the offshore wind farm: EnBW and Wallaby Boats christen a new kind of crew transfer vessel

Kappeln/Hamburg/Karlsruhe. EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG and Wallaby Boats GmbH today celebrated the christening of the Impulse offshore transfer vessel at the Port of Kappeln in the presence of Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Dr. Robert Habeck. Both companies jointly launched the vessel, which features a new type of suspension system. It allows technicians to safely access offshore wind turbines even in heavy seas. At the same time, it is more economical than previous transfer vessels. EnBW has purchased the vessel for accessing its Baltic 2 offshore wind farm. From May, it will take the first employees to their workplace at sea.

EnBW CEO Dr. Georg Stamatelopoulos explained: “With innovative technologies, we are setting new standards for safe and efficient operations at sea. The Impulse transfer vessel will help us to produce electricity even more reliably and cost-effectively using offshore wind energy in the future. With the vessel having been developed and built in Schleswig-Holstein, we are also pleased to have been able to capitalize on the technical expertise and quality standards of Germany as a business location.”

Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Dr. Robert Habeck, emphasized: “The Impulse transfer vessel is a pioneering piece of German engineering. Our aim is for offshore wind farms with a total output of 30 GW to generate electricity in Germany by 2030. To achieve this, we are going to need even more vessels like this one – an opportunity for industrial growth in our country and a chance to decarbonize our energy system.”

Julia Carstens, Schleswig-Holstein’s State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Technology, said: “With Impulse, start-up Wallaby Boats GmbH is proving that young companies can bring innovative technologies to market. Besides bringing added value to the region, the new vessel also makes the transfer to offshore platforms much safer for personnel. I am particularly pleased that this new hull technology was embraced in Schleswig-Holstein, adopted by Wallaby Boats and the Hitzler shipyard and realized in Schleswig-Holstein with the help of a broad financial network.”

Harald Hübner, Managing Director of OFFCON GmbH, said: “As a family business from the small town of Kappeln, together with all our backers and supporters, we are delighted to have been able to develop such an innovative vessel and now to bring it to the world’s oceans in several improved versions. We would never have got this far without the support of the state of Schleswig-Holstein, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and EnBW. We are very grateful for this.” Wallaby Boats GmbH is a spin-off of OFFCON GmbH.

EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG and Wallaby Boats GmbH are launching Impulse, the first crew transfer vessel (CTV) with a suspension system. From May, the vessel will start transporting service technicians to EnBW’s Baltic 2 wind farm in the Baltic Sea. The new hull suspension system ensures safer and more efficient operation. Impulse is the world’s first industrial catamaran with a system of this kind in commercial use.

Innovative suspension system – a safe transfer in heavy seas

The suspension system was developed and engineered by Nauti-Craft Pty Ltd. It allows the two hulls of the catamaran to compensate for the motion of the waves independently of one another. As a result, the vessel’s chassis remains more stable than on conventional transfer vessels when the system is in passive mode and almost motionless when in active mode. These features make the transit much more comfortable. The transfer of technicians to offshore wind turbines will also be much safer. Simulations using Adams, software for testing multibody dynamics, showed that persons can be safely transferred at a wave height of 2.1 meters on Impulse when carrying a full load. The other advantage of vessels with hull suspension systems is that personnel are exposed to less noise, ship movement and centrifugal forces, significantly reducing the risk of seasickness and other health problems. Among the vessel’s innovative features is the ability to use the thermal energy generated by the hydraulics in its system – to deice the deck in winter, for example. The vessel will operate more efficiently than other standard ships with the same power in sea conditions.

Value creation in Schleswig-Holstein and in Germany

The vessel was built with production partner Hitzler, a shipyard based in Lauenburg, using mainly local or national suppliers. These include Hydac (Hamburg office) with its Dutch subsidiary Hycom for the hydraulics, Zoller (Elmshorn) and Noris (Rostock) for the electrics and automation systems, Thitronik Marine (Kiel) for the navigation and radio equipment and the carpentry firm Wessels (Haren/Ems) for the fit-out.

Über die EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG

Mit rund 28.000 Mitarbeiter*innen ist die EnBW eines der größten Energieunternehmen in Deutschland und Europa. Sie versorgt rund 5,5 Millionen Kund*innen mit Strom, Gas, Wasser sowie Dienstleistungen und Produkten in den Bereichen Infrastruktur und Energie. Im Zuge der Neuausrichtung vom klassischen Energieversorger zum nachhaltigen Infrastrukturunternehmen sind der Ausbau der erneuerbaren Energien sowie der Verteil- und Transportnetze für Strom und Gas Eckpfeiler der EnBW-Wachstumsstrategie und Schwerpunkt der Investitionen. Von 2023 bis 2025 wird die EnBW rund 14 Milliarden Euro brutto investieren, größtenteils in die beschleunigte Umsetzung der Energiewende. Bereits Ende 2025 soll über die Hälfte des EnBW-Erzeugungsportfolios aus erneuerbaren Energien bestehen, bis Ende 2028 wird der Ausstieg aus der Kohle angestrebt. Dies sind zentrale Meilensteine auf dem Weg zur Klimaneutralität des Unternehmens in 2035.