Wind project for children came to Denmark with worldwide interest

Some stories need to be told from the beginning, and this is one of them. It has been less than a year since the young Belgian geotechnical engineer William Beuckelaers was busy with calculations on how to remove remnants of steel foundations from wind turbines on the seabed. It is theoretical mathematics on a higher level that William Beuckelaers does for his employer Jan De Nul Group, which is involved in the installation of offshore wind turbines globally.

A vacuum was simply to be used to suck up foundation remains from the seabed. It is not easy, because it requires complicated calculations, but for William Beuckelaers it is easy. Already at school he was the best in his class in mathematics, and a PhD from Oxford supported by Ørsted, among others, together with nine other companies, cements his abilities completely. The topic was calculations for monopiles for offshore wind turbines.

It has been nine months since William Beuckelaers had the idea in December 2020 to try to suck up remnants of monopiles from the garden bed. Actually, having his hands well-equipped for manual tasks is not something that has occupied the engineer particularly much. Here it is his father who can do everything in the house, even though in his working life he has only been involved in helping socially disadvantaged families. But William Beuckelaers made a model, and managed to suck the monopile model out of the sand.

Belgium's first floating offshore wind turbine

Success could not completely escape William Beuckelaers, and when it was his 29th birthday on January 29, there was little doubt about what the well-paid engineer wanted from his parents.

- I wanted a model windmill, and I got it, he says of a gift that would have even greater significance.

William Beuckelaers wanted to make a floating offshore wind turbine. So he went shopping in the hardware store, where thin downpipes, clamps and other equipment were purchased. The first of three 3D printers was purchased to make the transition pieces.

The floating offshore wind turbine was already ready to be tested in the icy water off the beach in Belgium in February. And the engineer succeeded.

- I made Belgium's first floating offshore wind turbine, says William Beuckelaers.

Inquiries from all over the world

In the meantime, William Beuckelaers had the idea to build offshore wind turbines together with children, because the wind turbine industry needs more engineers. Therefore, interest must be aroused very early, and girls in particular should choose science subjects.

- In Belgium, only 17 percent of all engineers are women, and something needs to be done about that. I am sure that it is in childhood that the interest should be aroused in both boys and girls, he says about something that in early spring made him create the non-profit organization OffshoreWind4Kids.com with a post on LinkedIn.

- I was looking for sponsors to come out and do demo days where children can come together with their parents and assemble the wind turbines and launch them together at the beach, says William Beuckelaers, who wanted to have his expenses paid, but also get a collaboration with schools and universities.

- I received over 700 inquiries, where people and companies gave small amounts. Messages came from Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Portugal, the UK, Germany, Poland, Taiwan, Japan and the USA, says William Beuckelaers, who held the first demo day in the Belgian coastal town of Ostend in April.

Now four hubs have already been created in Belgium and one in Germany, where the organization collaborates with schools and universities.

Østerstrand – Fredericia

The sun is high in the sky, and William Beuckelaers is in place with his helpers. This includes his parents and an engineer from Ørsted, who also works with offshore wind turbines. The limited number of wind turbines and the different foundations mean that there has been a demand for places.

- We have 14 families registered, so 100 people will be there today. Unfortunately, we had to say no to 16 families, says William, who has carefully selected Fredericia, and there is a reason for that.

- I knew there were many companies here that deal with offshore wind. It is local companies that have made the demo day possible, he says.

The main sponsor is Fred. Olsen Windcarrier, which from Fredericia controls three ships that transport and install turbine blades, nacelles and towers for offshore wind turbines.

- I thought it was a great initiative, and it was just right for us. I also hope it can inspire the elementary school to take up the subject, says Charlotte Backmann, marketing and communications manager at Fred. Olsen Windcarrier.

She brought her husband and two children to today's event, and the family got a place on the demo day on a first-come, first-served basis.

According to her mother, daughter Alva Backmann, 10 years old, is not keen on either technology or mathematics. Still, she could have worked with the offshore wind turbines.

- It's fun, and I was very excited, says Alva, who asked many questions with great interest along the way.

Open for a Danish future

The other local support comes from Dynamica Ropes in Taulov, where there was no doubt that the project should be supported.

- It's such a good idea when a young man bothers to give his help to others. I meet so few women in the industry, and those I meet almost all work in marketing. I immediately packed a box of lines and sent them to William, says sales manager Kate Christensen from Dynamica Ropes, which makes ropes for the offshore wind turbine industry, among other things.

Dynamica Ropes has recently delivered keel and winch lines to Denmark's probably best-known floating offshore wind turbine, Stiesdal TetraSpar, which has recently arrived at a position off Stavanger in Norway.

William Beuckelaers also has a floating offshore wind turbine platform with it, which is very similar to the Stiesdal TetraSpar.

Saturday's last family is assembling their wind turbine in Fredericia, before William Beuckelaers has to hurry on because on Sunday there is a demo day on the Elbe in Hamburg. Monday will be a day of rest before he returns to work at Jan De Nul Group on Tuesday.

Although William Beuckelaers would like to return to Denmark with a demo day, he has bigger ideas.

- I really hope that we can find a big sponsor so that we can create a hub in Denmark, says William Beuckelaers, who sees the energy group Ørsted as the ideal sponsor together with DTU and the elementary schools.