Ørsted, ATP see North Sea Energy Island acting as digital hub

Danish offshore wind major Ørsted A/S (CPH:ORSTED) and compatriot pension fund ATP have signed an agreement with digital infrastructure outfit GlobalConnect to make the North Sea Energy Island a cross-border digital hub, the companies said today.

Ørsted and ATP teamed up in 2021 to take part in the upcoming tender for the energy that the Danish parliament has decided to build in the North Sea to serve as a hub for surrounding wind farms and the team recently proposed a modular concept for the island to make it future-proof.

“The North Sea Energy Island offers Denmark a unique opportunity to become a hub for the key technologies of tomorrow, and thereby attract significant investments within both renewable energy and digitalisation,” said Rasmus Errboe, head of Region Continental Europe at Ørsted.

As data consumption is expected to increase significantly in the coming years, the grid transporting data between the North Sea countries will need to expand. According to the announcement, a smart North Sea Energy Island could be a natural intersection for this grid.

The access to renewable energy and GlobalConnect’s digital backbone is hoped to attract significant investments from large operators to the island and Denmark. The smart energy island would also help digitise offshore wi­­nd.

“The North Sea Energy Island will play a significant part in future-proofing the region while strengthening the Nordic’s position as an attractive hub for transporting data across the world," said GlobalConnect chief executive Martin Lippert.

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