DEME has been awarded a contract, worth up to $52 million, for the construction of an offshore wind terminal in the Port of Cuxhaven in Germany.

The terminal will boost Cuxhaven’s position as a key offshore industrial hub to support the handling of heavy-duty loads, particularly components for offshore wind farms.

Operated by Niedersachsen Ports (NPorts), the expanded offshore wind terminal will consist of three (5-7) berths and 1,250 metres of quay wall for heavy loads, as well as a storage area of 38 hectare.

As part of a consortium, which includes leading German civil marine construction companies Depenbrock and TAGU, DEME will carry out the dredging and land reclamation works, with a total volume of more than 3 million m3 expected to be reclaimed.

Two trailing suction hopper dredgers, a backhoe dredger and several barges will be deployed.

“Construction of the expanded terminal requires an innovative technical approach. The project includes the installation of combi-walls and land reclamation in a dynamic estuarine environment, meeting the complex engineering requirements tailored to a heavy load terminal and demanding geotechnical conditions,” said Lutz Dröge, Area Manager Germany.

With a proven track record in the Port of Cuxhaven, DEME and its consortium partners previously delivered the neighbouring berths 8 (2008–2009) and 4 (2016–2018), located directly east and west of the current project site.

Additionally, DEME used Cuxhaven as the base port during the construction of the Borkum Riffgrund 2 offshore wind farm.

The project will start in early 2025 and is expected to take 3.5 years. Upon completion, the terminal will play a key role in further advancing the energy transition in the North Sea region, and the German government’s wind energy expansion targets.