German Environment Ministers visit nkt cables' submarine cable production in Cologne

nkt cables' f2c (flow to customer) factory in Cologne received an official visit from Environmental Ministers from two regional German government bodies on September 13th. The visit was part of a joint initiative of a group of companies and organizations within the German offshore wind industry. With the group's focus on innovation, supply chain and climate protection, the visit intended to recognize the contribution of specialist companies like nkt cables for securing clean, renewable offshore wind energy for a sustainable future.

The transition towards harnessing sustainable forms of energy is one of the key technological and political challenges of the coming decades, and political engagement is of great importance to the future development of offshore wind industry. Because of the high startup costs, extra incentives are needed in order to attract investment in offshore wind, and drive sustainable development forward. This depends to a great degree on political decisions made at regional, national and international levels.

The ministers taking part in the visit were Joachim Lohse, Senator for the Environment, Construction and Transportation of the City-State of Bremen in northern Germany and Johannes Remmel, Minister for Climate Protection, Environment, Agriculture, Conservation and Consumer Protection of North Rhine-Westphalia. Germany's coastal districts, such as Bremen, are heavily involved in the drive towards harnessing offshore wind energy. However, some non-coastal areas in Germany are also contributing substantially to the development of offshore wind power generation. This is particularly true for the North Rhine-Westphalia district, where Cologne – and nkt cables' submarine cable production – is located. According to a recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers, North Rhine-Westphalia has a 17% share of Germany's overall value generation for offshore wind projects.

The ministers were welcomed by representatives of nkt cables' management team. In an introductory speech, Detlev Waimann, President of nkt cables' Project Business, stressed the urgent need for reliable and sustainable decisions in the political sphere in order to facilitate future development of the offshore wind industry. A tour of the factory followed, with the group stopping at key points in order to receive brief presentations from members of production teams involved in various stages of the production flow.

After the walk through the production areas, the visit ended in the reception area of the f2c factory, where the ministers gave their parting statements. The ministers used the opportunity to focus on the need for the German Federal Government to create a framework of reliable and credible conditions to support offshore business initiatives, and to drive future growth and economic recovery. Both ministers gave thanks for a very well-organized event, and expressed that they had been very impressed with nkt cables' state-of-the-art factory and production processes, and all that is being achieved by the people working there.

Source: nkt cables

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