Sixty-three to eighty-four kilometers off the Dutch North Sea coast, a 650-square-kilometer offshore wind project called Zeevonk is quietly taking shape. When complete, it will deliver two gigawatts of capacity across two phases — enough to reshape how the Netherlands draws energy from the sea.
A key supply contract for phase 1 has just been signed. It covers the cables that will link each turbine to the grid — and the company chosen to make them wasn’t selected on track record and price alone.
A cable contract at the heart of Zeevonk
Vattenfall and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), acting through CIP’s Energy Transition Fund, have awarded Dutch manufacturer TKF the inter-array cable contract for Zeevonk phase 1. The deal covers approximately 162 kilometers of 66 kV inter-array cables, including all associated accessories.
TKF’s scope is end-to-end: design, engineering, manufacturing, testing, delivery, and project management — a full-chain commitment that leaves little room for handoffs or gaps. Production will take place at TKF’s facility in Eemshaven in the northern Netherlands, keeping the supply chain close to the project’s North Sea location. Walter Heerts, Managing Director of TKF Subsea Solutions, described the fit plainly: “The combination of scale, ambition, and focus on sustainability aligns seamlessly with TKF.”
Why sustainability tipped the scales
What makes this contract notable isn’t just its size. The agreement explicitly requires sustainable materials and circular design measures — criteria that remain relatively uncommon in offshore wind procurement, where cost and technical compliance typically dominate the conversation.
TKF’s cables meet those requirements through concrete design choices. The conductors use low-carbon aluminum, recycled steel and copper are incorporated into the cable structure, and the design is bitumen-free — a change that reduces both the environmental footprint and the difficulty of recycling the cables at end of life. Taken together, these choices lower the cables’ overall carbon footprint and increase the proportion of circular materials in the finished product.
Zeevonk CEO Felix Würtenberger confirmed that this approach was central to the selection. “With the choice of TKF, we are working with a supplier that combines proven offshore wind experience with a strong focus on sustainable design,” he said, adding that the agreement supports Zeevonk’s ambition to reduce the environmental impact of key project components.
How circular design helped Zeevonk win its tender
The sustainability requirements embedded in this contract didn’t emerge in isolation. They reflect the criteria Zeevonk itself had to meet to secure its place in the Dutch offshore wind tender process.
According to the project partners, applying circularity measures contributed directly to Zeevonk’s strong tender position. By satisfying sustainability requirements through multiple design solutions — rather than leaning on a single measure — the project demonstrated a credible, layered approach to environmental performance. That distinction matters. Tender criteria in the Netherlands are increasingly rewarding environmental performance alongside cost and capacity, and purely price-driven bids can’t easily replicate it.
TKF’s role as a developer of advanced sustainable connectivity solutions made it a practical fit for these requirements. Its involvement effectively allowed Zeevonk to translate tender commitments into verified supply chain choices.
Zeevonk’s two-phase ambition: wind, integration, and green hydrogen
The cable contract covers only phase 1, but Zeevonk’s full ambition runs considerably further. Phase 1 will deliver 1 GW of offshore wind capacity, with completion planned for 2029 — a significant contribution to Dutch renewable energy targets on its own.
Phase 2, expected in 2032, adds another 1 GW of wind energy alongside 500 MW of system integration capacity. The integration component goes beyond generation to address how variable wind power is absorbed and balanced within the wider energy system — a distinction that grows more important as grids absorb more intermittent supply.
Phase 2 also includes an electrolyzer in the Port of Rotterdam dedicated to producing green hydrogen. That step would connect offshore wind generation directly to industrial decarbonization — a link central to the Netherlands’ longer-term energy transition strategy. The project covers 650 square kilometers and sits 63 to 84 kilometers off the coast near Bergen aan Zee, placing it firmly in the open North Sea.
With the TKF contract signed and production set to begin in Eemshaven, attention will turn to how the broader supply chain for phase 1 takes shape — and whether the sustainability criteria embedded in this cable deal set a precedent for the procurement decisions still to come.
