⚓ 🌊 Among us at the Baltic Sea:: That was all the reason we needed to attend the 2nd Offshore Connect in Rostock-Warnemünde on 16 and 17 October 2025! #Ostsee
I was lucky enough to organize another top-class offshore wind event in Rostock with WindAdvice GmbH. The parts that are played by Offshore Wind Kommunikation alone are the program design and the moderation. WindAdvice GmbH plays the decisive role for the event framework, the offshore wind exit and the exhibition of the companies at the recruiting day.
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is characterized by its relationship with the sea. At 1,945 km, the state has by far the longest coastline of all the German federal states. The maritime #suppliers and service providers including the #offshore wind industry are the industrial core of the economic and employment policy perspective for #MV.
With 4️⃣ upcoming offshore wind power plants, the necessary grid expansion and the planned construction of transformer platforms, as well as an impressive international Baltic Sea wind potential, regional cooperation is an essential building block for achieving the current plans and for positioning for future European cooperation.
The idea of Offshore Connect was and is to link two essential elements for companies in the offshore wind energy sector in MV:
- How do companies in the maritime and offshore wind industry find qualified and committed employees?
- And how can the cooperation of local players be supported in the best possible way?
This answer followed on day 2 of Offshore Connect at the Neptun Hotel.
The answer to the first question was given on the first day of the 2nd Offshore Connect at the Neptun Werft shipyard on 1️⃣6️⃣. October.
Around 80 applicants attended the recruiting day at the Neptun shipyard – from ship mechanics to environmental technicians, career changers were warmly welcomed by the companies and stakeholders 50Hertz, Neptun Meyer Engineering, Sitte Elektrotechnik, EEW SPC, Amprion, AFZ Aus- und Fortbildungszentrum Rostock GmbH, the Employment Agency, the University of Rostock and Grimedio Arbeitsmedizin. The maritime industry, the offshore wind industry and the skilled workers of tomorrow were introduced to the fascination of offshore by the Rostock Chamber of Industry and Commerce and WindAdvice GmbH.
We would like to thank this year’s host Neptun Werft for their great support of the Offshore Connect recruiting day.
The evening continued seamlessly with Irish folk music, networking and a joint offshore wind dinner on the Mecklenburg. There was plenty of room for good discussions among experts.
At 1️⃣7️⃣. October, we were able to work out the second answer: The OffshoreConnect #conference day at the Neptun Hotel focused on the expansion of offshore wind energy in the Baltic Sea and the maritime industry with the associated #valuecreationpotential for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
The main aim was to bring the relevant players together.
On Friday morning, representatives from the maritime and offshore wind industries met at the Neptun Hotel in Warnemünde. The NDR Nordmagazin from Schwerin also took the opportunity to find out about the latest developments(https://www.ndr.de/fernsehen/sendungen/nordmagazin/offshore-windenergie-krisengespraech-in-rostock,nordmagazin-4094.html).
After a brief welcome by Offshore Wind Kommunikation, Ministerialdirigent Hanns Christoph Saur, Head of the Department of Economic and Technology Promotion, Ministry of Economics, Infrastructure, Labor and Tourism Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, welcomed the participants and placed the growing importance of the offshore wind industry and the significance of the maritime industry in the current context. It became clear that MV sees great opportunities in the expansion of Baltic Sea wind energy. Karina Würtz, Managing Director of the Offshore Wind Energy Foundation, also highlighted the current developments for the offshore wind industry in connection with the MV Maritime Future Concept.
Together with the experts present, it became clear that MV is moving to provide the best possible support for both complementary sectors. Pawel Beecken from TotalEnergies highlighted the challenges currently facing developers and operators of offshore wind power plants and Eric Cornelsen, 50 Hertz GmbH, presented the perspective of the transmission system operator. Later, Sergej Drechsel from Iberdrola Deutschland talked about the Windanker project, among others; the Baltic Sea project is currently in the construction phase and is already the third project for the developer and operator in the Baltic Sea.
The motto of Offshore Connect became clear in the presentations and the intensive exchange between participants and speakers: Together, all Baltic Sea players are stronger.
Cooperation between the players on and for the Baltic Sea is crucial to success. The co-presentation by Ursula Smolka from Ramboll and Jens Kühne from Bachmann Monitoring was also exciting, as they highlighted the potential and necessary course-setting associated with the extension of the planned operating times of offshore wind power plants. There are clear opportunities here to optimize the business case for offshore wind. The necessary foundations (including data collection) must be laid in good time for this.
Martina Bühren, head of the “Wind farm procedures for non-pre-sampled areas” department at the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency in Rostock, presented a comprehensive overview of Baltic Sea wind development. EnBW, represented by Dr. Michael Splett, gave an exciting insight and review of 15 years of Baltic Sea offshore wind and his company’s operating experience.
From the focus on production monitoring by Philipp Stukenbrock, CEO 8.2., to a contribution on the construction of SWATH – CTVs in Finland by Nils Olschner, Tyvönne, to the advantages of regional cooperation by Carsten Wibel, Ingenieurbureau Wibel, to a contribution by Manuel Zehr, Formosan, who joined us from Taiwan, on the failure of local content efforts in his country and a good overview of Polish offshore wind developments by Jakub Budzynski, CEO PIMEW, where the focus is also on prescribed local value-added shares, an exciting discussion on the topic of maximizing regional/local value-added shares arose.
Key takeaways that can maximize regional value creation:
- Improvement of training opportunities & availability of qualified specialists at the location
- Infrastructure optimization & available space for the operating companies
- Accompanied by long-term and secure framework conditions and attractive areas for expansion in terms of the expected electricity yield
- As well as good cooperation with local politicians
Dr. Wolfgang Sichermann contributed a comprehensive classification and possible cooperative approaches to munitions recovery to the Offshore Connect expert discussion. A lot still needs to happen here to reduce these gigantic contaminated sites.
In summary, it can be said that the 2nd Offshore Connect Conference 2025 essentially benefited from the high-calibre presentations and the exchange between experts. There is still a lot to be done – at the same time, the value creation potential for companies on the Baltic Sea is very high and offers immense growth potential for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as a location, whether in the O&M sector, shipbuilding currently with a strong focus on the construction of transformer platforms by Neptun Werft, offshore wind farm construction, along the entire value chain in addition to the availability of large quantities of green electricity. The projects currently under construction and development alone will bring an installed offshore wind capacity of over 2.5 GW.
We look back on exciting project updates and an active exchange. In addition to the current challenges, future opportunities and potentials were discussed together.
In the medium to long term, the project business must stabilize in order to be able to expand offshore wind energy in a cost-efficient and sustainable manner. #planningcertainty
Whether there will be a 3rd Offshore Connect in 2026 and if so, in what composition, is still in the stars. If this happens, we look forward to seeing you! #strongertogether 💪
Many thanks to the Offshore Wind Energy Foundation for your support!
Many thanks to Martina Köhn and mEErFrauen e.V. for the good cooperation in 2025! https://www.meerfrauen.org/
