A consortium of major energy and wind power companies, including bp, TotalEnergies, RWE, Vattenfall, EnBW, Iberdrola, Ocean Winds, Orsted, Equinor, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, Vestas, GE Vernova, and C1 Connections, has initiated a Joint Industry Project (JIP) to advance the C1 Wedge Connection Technology for commercial deployment in offshore wind projects.

The JIP's primary goal is to provide participants with comprehensive insights into the production supply chain, from flange manufacturing to welding flanges to can sections. This includes gaining firsthand experience in all aspects of installation, such as speed, pile driving, and sealing of the C1 Wedge Connection.

As wind turbines continue to increase in size, the traditional L-flange design is reaching its capacity limits. The C1 Wedge Connection™ was developed to address this issue, aiming to enhance the capacity and reliability of connections in offshore wind structures. The technology has already been implemented in the first 14 MW wind turbine in 2021 and received the A-level component certificate by DNV in 2023. It is now viewed as a viable alternative to traditional bolted L-flanges for large-scale wind farms.

The C1 Wedge Connection™ offers higher ultimate resistance and fatigue resistance compared to conventional bolted flange connections, along with a lightweight design that facilitates faster and safer offshore installation. As part of the JIP, full-scale flanges will be manufactured by GRI and Shandong Iraeta, and welded to can sections by German monopile supplier EEW.

Source: c1connections.com