In the summer of 2021, US President Joe Biden and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel initiated the German-American climate and energy partnership.
The “Offshore Wind” working group was subsequently set up by the BMWK (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection) and the American Department of Energy (DoE). This meets several times a year to discuss the challenges both countries are facing. That includes updates on the current status of offshore wind development on both sides of the Atlantic, challenges in the supply chains for the construction of offshore wind power plants, professional exchange on regulatory processes and R&D topics. For the first time, a face-to-face event with participants from both countries took place within the IPF 2022 (International Partnering Forum) in April in Atlantic City, NJ. Schmidbauer was invited to the USA with a delegation of German offshore wind officers within the GOI – German Offshore Wind Initiative and was able to familiarize himself with the topics on site in numerous business meetings, network events and workshops as a service provider with many years of experience in the supply chain for wind energy as the driving force behind the solution.
Schmidbauer transfers the knowledge from 90 years of theory and practice, powerful machines and practical experience to the next big topic of the energy transition: hydrogen. Here, too, gigantic infrastructure has to be set up and heavy loads have to be transported as a result. We have been a member of the Hamburg Renewable Energy Industry Network (EEHH) since January. The city of Hamburg wants to become a European metropolis for hydrogen. The EEHH is therefore a network of companies that use their expertise to advance this project. Accordingly, Schmidbauer has also been brought on board – the subsidiary Fricke-Schmidbauer is based in Hamburg, so there is a local contact person.
"The know-how we have acquired is useful, among other things, when it comes to transportability and craneability when designing systems. If this is planned properly, the development or change can be accelerated enormously. The earlier we get involved, the better,” explains Stefan Schmidbauer. Of course, we are not only well positioned in theoretical questions. The fleet is also ready for new challenges: with the LR1800-1 crawler cranes and the LR11350 with Power-Boom, Schmidbauer is ready to support the energy transition in the onshore and offshore sectors. A special feature is the effort to use the vehicles with electric drives wherever possible. In this way, one is able to operate the mighty machines emission-free.
At this year's Wind Energy, Schmidbauer used the opportunity to exchange ideas with experts from the wind and hydrogen scene in order to lay the foundation for future projects and thus jointly advance the energy transition a little further.
Find out more at GOI - German Offshore Wind and EEHH - Renewable Energies Hamburg and the the news: Schmidbauer becomes a member of EEHH - the industry network for future energies | Schmidbauer Gruppe (schmidbauer-group.com)
