North Sea Summit Concludes Agreement on Investment in Offshore Wind Capacity

At the third North Sea Summit 2026 hosted by the City of Hamburg, government representatives from the North Sea coastal states, representatives of the offshore wind industry, and transmission system operators for electricity and hydrogen networks came together. In the Hanseatic city, participants jointly discussed the potential the North Sea offers for generating green electricity. The aim of the meeting was to make the North Sea region the world’s largest hub for clean energy. Accordingly, the participants reaffirmed their intention to consistently harness the region’s offshore wind potential and to build a resilient, integrated, and sustainable energy system.

At the summit, the parties involved signed an investment pact committing to the expansion of offshore wind energy. Hydrogen is to be used as a complementary energy carrier where it can be deployed cost-efficiently. To implement the investment pact, governments, industry, and offshore transmission system operators (OTCs) are to assume coordinated and complementary roles.

Under the pact, governments are called upon to establish reliable regulatory frameworks to reduce investment risks. This includes, in particular, appropriate financing and market instruments, forward-looking maritime spatial planning, and the creation of the legal prerequisites for integrated offshore grid and hybrid projects.

In the implementation phase, offshore wind industries are to take responsibility for providing the necessary investments and ensuring cost-efficient installations. The OTCs, in turn, are responsible for planning the offshore grid infrastructure in a coordinated, transparent, and cost-efficient manner.