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Reception of the Renewable Energy Hamburg Cluster and Maritime Cluster at the SMM 2012 “German Offshore Wind – Too Hot to Handle?”
Offshore – future-oriented market with growth potential, or the problem child of the energy revolution? At the beginning of September, 80 guests of the Renewable Energy Hamburg Cluster and the Maritime Cluster discussed the future of the offshore industry at the joint reception “German Offshore Wind – Too Hot to Handle” to mark the 25th international Ship Building, Machinery & Marine Technology (SMM) fair.
“Not everything can be endlessly re-invented in the future,” said John Michael Hannibal, CEO of the Offshore Europe Division at Siemens AG, during the podium discussion. In contrast to practice to date, he said, the sector in Germany should no longer try out new technologies and procedures each time a new marine wind farm is built, but must strive to achieve serial effects and a track record. In the debate moderated by Olaf Preuß from the “Hamburger Abendblatt” newspaper, John Hannibal discussed the issue with the following company representatives: Knut Gerdes, Windea Offshore GmbH & Co. KG; Christoph Mertens, DONG Energy Renewables Germany GmbH; Björn Pistol, Uniconsult GmbH; Capt. Ekkehard Stade, Global Maritime Germany, and Dirk Zademack, Nobiskrug GmbH.
In 2012, the SMM, the leading international forum for the maritime industry, attracted around 50,000 visitors. Every two years, representatives from the shipbuilding and shipbuilding supply industry, and specialists from all over the world, meet in Hamburg. The next SMM will be held from 9 - 12 September 2014, directly before the first fair Hamburg WindEnergy 2014.
