Hamburg: DNV has appointed Matthias Laatsch to lead its wind energy operations in Hamburg, Germany. Due to the combination of its global leadership in the certification of offshore wind projects and strong local capabilities in marine operations and surveillance in fabrication yards, DNV is in a prime position to support Germany’s offshore wind energy industry.
DNV’s growing team in Hamburg comprises dedicated wind energy experts who are able to draw on DNV’s 25 years of experience in serving the global wind energy industry. They will work closely with DNV’s wind team based in Copenhagen, Denmark and London, UK, and will also be firmly supported by DNV’s marine survey team, located in Hamburg and Oslo.
“With a strong local presence in Hamburg, DNV has much to offer to Germany`s major growth plans within the renewables sector,” says Kevin Smith, DNV’s Segment Director for Wind Energy.
“DNV appointed Matthias Laatsch due to his substantial experience and knowledge of the German offshore wind project certification market, as well as his extensive professional experience in complementary sectors such as bridge design and engineering, hydraulic steel works and large infrastructure projects,” explains Frøydis Eldevik, DNV`s Director of Operations – Cleaner Energy Europe.
Mr Laatsch, whose background is civil engineering joined the offshore wind industry six years ago, and has gained valuable experience in offshore engineering. He started his offshore career supervising the building of the FINO 1 research platform. For Germany’s first offshore wind farm – Alpha Ventus – Mr Laatsch led the full scope of project certification in accordance with the German BSH requirements. Under his leadership, the project successfully obtained the first project certificate for a German offshore wind farm.
In addition to Alpha Ventus, Matthias Laatsch has also led the project certification efforts for offshore wind projects such as Bard Offshore 1, Baltic 1, Princess Amalia (Q7), Nordsee Ost and others. He is well versed in all of the different project certification modules as well as in the German BSH requirements.
“Strengthening DNV’s offshore wind focus in Hamburg is an important strategic move. The team will be close to the hub of Germany’s wind energy sector. We have ambitious growth plans and this creates a major opportunity to work closely with the key players in the German market,” says Matthias Laatsch.
