The first production line at the new manufacturing halls Sif is building at its Maasvlakte 2 site in Rotterdam is scheduled to go into operation in July 2024, according to the Dutch manufacturer, which is building the new halls as an extension to its existing facilities.
Sif made the final investment decision (FID) to build the extension to its factory in February 2023, allocating EUR 328 million to realise the project, which the company says will make its Maasvlakte facilities the world’s largest monopile foundation manufacturing plant.
The upgraded manufacturing plant is expected to significantly increase the total combined capacity of Sif to 500 kilotons a year and upgrade Sif’s capabilities to manufacture the equivalent of 200 XXXL, 11-metre diameter, 2,500 tonnes reference monopile foundations a year.
A year ago, when Sif announced reaching the FID, the company said its two launching customers, one of them being Ecowende (the Shell-Eneco joint venture), had together committed to 348 kilotons of production, either booked or in exclusive negotiation, bringing the company’s total order book at the time to 662 kilotons.
The company also has a long-term capacity reservation framework agreement with Equinor while a second long-term capacity reservation framework agreement was being negotiated when the company decided to invest in building the factory extension.
Work on the new manufacturing halls began in April 2023 with the building of the steel construction.
In February this year, Sif completed the construction of the exterior halls and started building the plate field, which will be an essential part of the operational infrastructure of the new factory. “While the construction work continues and with a lot of work yet to be done, we are pleased to let you know that everything is going as planned, and the first production line will go live in July 2024,” Sif said via social media on 14 March.
Following the first production going live this Summer, Sif expects the new manufacturing facilities to be in full operation in the first half of 2025.