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Van Oord has completed the first commercial scale installation of offshore wind monopile foundations using a noise reducing jetting and vibration method, eliminating the need for traditional pile driving hammers at Ecowende‘s Hollandse Kust West wind farm in the Dutch North Sea.
Three monopiles were installed using GBM Works‘ VibroJet® technology combined with CAPE Holland‘s vibro lifting tool, deployed from Van Oord’s jack up installation vessel Boreas. The operation marks what the companies describe as a major milestone in making large scale silent installation commercially viable for offshore wind.
How the technology works and why it matters
Conventional monopile installation relies on hydraulic impact hammers that generate intense underwater noise, a known threat to marine mammals, fish, and other sea life. The alternative method tested at Hollandse Kust West replaces that hammering with a combination of vertical vibrations and precisely controlled water jets directed inside the monopile. The jets fluidise the surrounding soil, reducing resistance and allowing the structure to sink under its own weight.
GBM Works’ proprietary Fluidflow® prediction model guided the jetting process, adjusting parameters in real time to account for the dense sand layers characteristic of the southern North Sea. CAPE Holland’s vibro technology provided the vertical oscillations needed to overcome remaining soil resistance.
Erik de Man, Chief Technology Officer at GBM Works, said the campaign confirmed that VibroJet® is a robust and highly controllable installation method, even in dense sand conditions, and sets a new benchmark for responsible monopile installation.
Marc van Rooijen, Chief Commercial Officer at CAPE Holland, noted that the hard seabed conditions at the site represent one of the most challenging environments in the Dutch North Sea, making the result particularly significant.
Broader installation campaign at Hollandse Kust West
The three VibroJet® monopiles were part of a wider campaign in which all 52 foundations at the wind farm were installed using the Boreas. Jan Willem Elleswijk, Project Director at Van Oord, said the successful execution demonstrates that large scale silent installation technologies are maturing rapidly, and highlighted the vessel’s capabilities across the full foundation scope.
Ecowende is a joint venture between Shell, Eneco, and Japan’s Chubu Electric Power. The wind farm is located approximately 53 kilometres off the Dutch coast near IJmuiden and will have an operational capacity of around 760 megawatts, enough to supply roughly 3% of Dutch electricity demand. The project is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2026.
Van Oord holds the contract for transporting and installing the foundations, laying inter array cables, and installing wind turbines at sea.
What comes next for the industry
Arjan Hamoen, Construction Director at Ecowende, called the operation a major step forward that may help the industry build wind farms in greater harmony with nature. Data collected during the vibro and VibroJet® installations will be used to validate predictive models for underwater sound and pile behaviour, supporting wider adoption of low noise methods on future projects worldwide.
The achievement is likely to draw attention from regulators and developers in other North Sea countries and beyond, where environmental permit conditions are tightening around underwater noise limits. If the technique proves repeatable and cost competitive at full project scale, it could reshape how the offshore wind sector approaches foundation installation in ecologically sensitive waters.
For carriers and vessel operators serving the offshore wind supply chain, the shift away from impact hammering could also influence equipment specifications and deck layouts on future installation vessels, as vibro and jetting systems require different handling and integration compared to conventional hammer spreads.
