Belgium has the ambition to have made the switch to 100% renewable energy by 2050. However, space at sea and on land is limited, which poses a major obstacle to achieve this. That is why it is so important we join forces with other countries.

Continued development of offshore wind farms is crucial in the European energy transition plans, which are focussed on increasing offshore wind capacity in Europe to 450 GW by 2050. 

The energy generated by these wind farms has to be transported to land. In order to build these hybrid offshore connections, a more integrated and cross-border approach is a prerequisite. The CORDOBA project, initiated by Blue Cluster and Flux50, the companies Elicio, Marlinks, Yuso and Enersynt, in cooperation with EnergyVille/KU Leuven, has been set up as a provider of decision-making tools and operational models to facilitate this collaboration.

The Flemish industry plays a leading role worldwide in the development and operation of offshore wind farms. The partners involved in this project are strong examples of this leadership:

• Elicio aims, in the coming years, to further build on its existing expertise in interconnecting different wind farms. In addition, the company is exploring new technologies, such as batteries and hydrogen, to help ensure stability within the electricity grid.
• Yuso is already conducting research into the management of decentralised onshore energy systems and plans to extend this expertise offshore.
• Enersynt, which specialises in connecting renewable energy sources to the grid, will develop an optimisation model to maximise the performance of interconnectors, the links between electricity networks.
• Marlinks will monitor the hundreds of kilometres of subsea cables, helping to ensure the reliable operation of the grid.