Aluminium in offshore may include subsea projects in future

Aluminium solutions can help the offshore industry bring their products to the next level in weight savings, low maintenance and fire resistance. The future might include subsea projects as well, says Sebastian Henrion of Royal Boskalis.

At the recent Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference in Amsterdam, Sapa brought its offshore and marine experts to discuss extruded aluminium solutions in offshore applications. Interestingly, in a turbulent and challenging year for the offshore industry, the two-day exhibition actually grew in comparison with last year, thereby illustrating that the industry is continuing to concentrate on the technical, operational and commercial challenges associated with future sector growth.

Today, Sapa develops solutions for temporary living quarters, gratings, handrails, decking, stair towers, helidecks, climate shields, blast walls and alike. Friction stir welding techniques are used in the production of large sections.

Sapa leveraged the exhibition to introduce industry decision-makers to the opportunities that aluminium profiles are providing for offshore, because while the advantages of aluminium are evident, designing with extrusions is relatively new to many engineers in the industry.

Visitors to the Sapa booth used the opportunity to get inspiration from exhibits and discuss with the marine and offshore experts current projects and challenges.

“There might be a future for robust and lightweight constructions in subsea projects,” says research and development engineer Sebastian Henrion of Royal Boskalis. “For that reason, I would like to understand the design properties of aluminium.”

Leading companies in the area of offshore and marine, such as CKT, are already building upon large and positive experience using the light metal. “Aluminium fits the high requirements necessary for our offshore living quarter applications,” says Jefta van der Elst, manager of Innovation, Research & Design for CKT.

Marijn Rietveld, who is responsible for the offshore and marine segment for Sapa, adds that “it doesn’t matter if we are talking about aluminium profiles and structures for new offshore projects or for refurbishing older platforms. Aluminium has great potential in this growing market.”