With around 25,000 staff in over 50 countries, TÜV SÜD is among the world’s leading providers of testing, inspection and certification (TIC) services. Its experts draw on comprehensive and multidisciplinary expertise and experience in the fields of onshore and offshore wind energy. The company’s service portfolio includes tests, inspections and assessments of wind turbines and sub-stations as well as technical sub-systems and components. TÜV SÜD supports planners, manufacturers, installers, investors and operators by providing a full scope of life-cycle services from project design and development, manufacturing, installation and operation to lifetime extension and dismantling.

Tractebel DOC Offshore GmbH is a global engineering company advising customers on the development and implementation of projects in the renewable energy sector, primarily projects in the fields of offshore wind energy and submarine transmission cables. In addition to engineering tasks at various project stages, Tractebel DOC experts also provide surveillance and monitoring during component manufacturing and on board ships during offshore operations.

TÜV SÜD and Tractebel DOC have already collaborated successfully with French electricity transmission system operator Réseau de Transport d’Electricité, S.A. (RTE). Their collaboration spanned three export transmission-cable projects aimed at connecting France’s first offshore wind farms – Banc de Guérande Saint-Nazaire, Fécamp and Courseulles-Sur-Mer, with a total of over 150 wind turbines – to the French electricity network. Now the two companies have announced their plan to expand and intensify their joint activities towards a carbon-neutral future, thereby supporting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and SDG 17 in particular.

Both partners will bring their special strengths to the venture to win new projects in new markets and new customers in established markets, work together to develop further innovative services in areas such as marine warranty surveying, and serve as a one-stop shop for wide-ranging packages of life-cycle services for offshore wind turbines and wind farms.

“I am delighted about this cooperation”, affirms Reiner Block, CEO of the Industry Service Division of TÜV SÜD. “Drawing on our pooled international and interdisciplinary expertise and our independent status, we can supply extensive service packages and innovative services tailored to the special needs of our customers in the offshore wind energy industry, and thereby advance the decarbonisation of our energy supply one step further.”

“DOC has been offering third-party expertise for all fields and project stages of offshore wind farms since 2009”, says Oliver Spalthoff, Managing Director of Tractebel DOC Offshore GmbH. “The collaboration between TÜV SÜD and Tractebel DOC now creates an attractive and comprehensive service portfolio that will give rise to further international market opportunities. In addition, in the years to come this strong partnership will enable us to carve out a good position on our domestic market here in Germany.”

Tractebel DOC

DOC has been majority owned by Tractebel since December 2018. As one of the world’s largest engineering companies, Tractebel offers pioneering strategies for a climate-neutral future. Around 5,000 employees develop engineering solutions for complex projects in the fields of energy, water and urban infrastructure. Tractebel customers benefit from 150 years of experience and the local know-how of experts in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. Revenue generated in 2020 was EUR 581 million. Tractebel is part of the ENGIE Group, an international low-carbon energy and services company. www.deutscheoffshore.de; www.tractebel-engie.de