Danish offshore wind turbine and foundation installation firm Cadeler has raised EUR 86 million (around $91,25M) via a private placement, with the plan to use the cash to fund a part of the construction of a new "hybrid" offshore wind farm foundation installation vessel.
Announcing the private placement plans on Wednesday, the company said it was in talks with COSCO over a potential order to construct a purpose-built ship for the installation of large offshore wind farm foundations.
"The addition of the new vessel will enable Cadeler to target the evolving segment of foundation installations and enhances the capability to offer a complete set of services within transport and installation of wind farms," Cadeler said Thursday.
"Cadeler has successfully completed a private placement of 26,175,532 shares at a price of 32.32 NOK per share for gross proceeds of 846 million NOK (86 million EUR). The net proceeds will be used to finance the down payment on a newbuild foundation installation vessel, the so-called F-class vessel, with an estimated cost of 343-347 million USD, which is expected to be delivered in Q4/2025," Cadeler said Thursday.
Mikkel Gleerup, CEO of Cadeler, said: "Working closely with our partners in the industry, we see excellent deployment prospects for an F-class newbuild due to strong demand for foundation installation in the rapidly evolving offshore market. Cadeler has a strong track record, having installed more than 500 foundations since 2013, and investing in a foundation installation vessel is a logical step for our business development."
In 2021, Cadeler ordered two X-class vessels to be delivered in Q3/2024 and Q1/2025. The new F-class will be built on similar specifications to the two X-class vessels. However, Cadeler said the F-class will feature a unique hybrid design, allowing the vessel to convert from a foundation installation unit to a wind turbine generator (WTG) installation vessel within a short period. Cadeler also aims to secure an option for a second F-class newbuild. Also, the main crane on the F-class vessel will be bigger than the 2,600t, 46m cranes expected to be installed on the X-class vessels.
Credit: Cadeler
"The new F-class hybrid vessel provides us with a unique competitive advantage. The vessel will increase operational efficiency significantly, and we will be able to serve our customers with foundation installation services," says Mikkel Gleerup.
He adds:"Flexibility, efficiency, and economies of scale are key to success for our clients. We are pleased that our portfolio is being shaped to deliver these requirements. In line with the X-class vessels, the F-class will cater for some of the largest dimensions in the offshore wind industry. The F-class will be able to transport up to six XL monopiles (weight 2.300-2,600mt each) per round-trip which improves operational efficiency substantially.
The oversubscribed private placement attracted strong interest from Nordic and international institutional investors according to Mikkel Gleerup, who concludes: "We are very excited to have secured funding that will enable us to execute our strategic priorities, enhance our market offering and support business growth."
When announcing the private placement plans on Wednesday, Cadeler said it was also in talks with a potential client for the vessel’s deployment in early 2026.
Cadeler currently owns two O-class offshore wind installation vessels, the Wind Orca and the Wind Osprey. Last month, the Wind Osprey started installing wind turbines at Vattenfall's Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore wind farm in the Dutch North Sea.
At HKZ, the world's first subsidy free offshore wind farm, Cadeler's Wind Osprey is installing the new generation of Siemens Gamesa 11MW turbines, which have a rotor diameter of 200 meters, and a total height of 225 meters measured from the sea level to the top of the blade.
The first X-class vessel, due for delivery in Q3 2024, has already been contracted for one of the largest offshore windfarms in the world – the 1.4 GW “Sofia” offshore wind farm in the North Sea, owned by RWE. For this project, Cadeler will assist Siemens Gamesa with the transport and installation of one hundred (100) 14 MW wind turbines. The 14 MW turbines are expected to be the largest wind turbines in the world at the time of installation.
Offshore wind vessel demand to outpace supply
Rystad Energy recently said that the growing offshore wind ambitions across the globe along with ever-growing turbines, could soon pose a problem as there doesn't seem to be enough vessels to meet the growing demand for the installation of these giant offshore wind turbines.
According to Rystad Energy, the demand will outpace the supply of capable vessels very soon, by 2024.
"As the energy transition accelerates, demand for offshore wind turbine installation vessels worldwide, excluding China, will rocket from 11 vessel years in 2021 to almost 79 vessel years by 2030. The need for installation vessels for turbines larger than 9 MW, which was nonexistent in 2019, will grow significantly by the end of the decade and reach 62 vessel years in 2030," Rystad said.
With the demand growing, there has been an increase in orders for newbuild offshore installation vessels and new, larger cranes to be installed on the existing fleet. It remains to be seen if the pace of the newbuild supply will be able to catch up with the increasing demand.
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