German Offshore Wind Energy Foundation strengthens international cooperation through MoU with Canada
Hamburg, 25.09.2026 – At WindEnergy Hamburg 2026, the German Offshore Wind Energy Foundation (Stiftung Offshore-Windenergie) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Net Zero Atlantic from Canada, alongside Carbon Trust (United Kingdom) and France Energies Marines (France). The agreement underlines the Foundation’s continued commitment to advancing international cooperation and knowledge exchange across offshore wind markets.
As offshore wind becomes an increasingly global industry, international partnerships are essential to develop resilient supply chains, accelerate market development and create the conditions for sustainable, investable projects. The MoU will support a structured exchange on key issues including regulatory frameworks, maritime spatial planning, grid integration, port infrastructure, environmental considerations, supply chains and stakeholder engagement.
“Offshore wind has become a global industry, and its development must therefore not be conceived within national borders,” said Karina Würtz, Managing Director of the German Offshore Wind Energy Foundation. “Through the German Offshore Wind Initiative (GOI), the Foundation assumed international responsibility at an early stage. Today, we work with established markets such as Japan and Taiwan, as well as with countries that are at the emerging stage of building their offshore wind industries, including Canada and India. Both countries are key strategic partners for Germany and Europe, in a world of rising geopolitical tensions.”
Karina Würtz continued: “At a time when international cooperation is under pressure in many places, we deliberately choose partnerships based on mutual respect. Germany can contribute valuable experience for example in permitting, grid integration, port infrastructure, environmental issues and the development of reliable market structures. But this is not about exporting ready-made solutions. It is about learning from one another and jointly creating the conditions for a rapid, sustainable and economically viable expansion of offshore wind. The global offshore wind supply chain demonstrates that the energy transition is internationally interconnected. Our cooperation must be interconnected, too.”
“This collaboration reflects our shared commitment to advancing offshore wind through science, innovation, and knowledge exchange. By bringing together expertise from Europe and Atlantic Canada, this collaboration will strengthen the foundations of a competitive, sustainable, and resilient offshore wind sector”, underlined Alisdair McLean, Chief Executive Officer, Net Zero Atlantic.
“Successful offshore wind markets around the world have been built on strong collaboration and the exchange of experience across regions. By extending the Carbon Trust’s collaboration with Net Zero Atlantic to include Stiftung Offshore Windenergie and FEM, we are creating an international platform for knowledge exchange - helping Nova Scotia draw on global best practice while building an offshore wind industry that reflects its own strengths, opportunities and ambitions,” added Herveline Gaborieau, Executive Director, France Energies Marines.
“The MoU identifies potential areas of collaboration including offshore wind resource assessment; environmental, permitting and engagement support; transmission, interconnection and cabling analysis; energy-system modelling and interregional planning; marine surveys; and capacity building and knowledge exchange,“ concluded Jan Matthiesen, Director, Carbon Trust
The MoU reinforces the German Offshore Wind Energy Foundation’s role as an international platform for dialogue and cooperation. By bringing together experience from mature offshore wind markets and insights from emerging markets, the Foundation aims to help shape a globally competitive offshore wind sector that delivers clean energy, investment, industrial value creation and long-term benefits for communities.
About the German Offshore Wind Energy Foundation
The German Offshore Wind Energy Foundation was created in 2005 to promote environmental and climate protection. The main objective is to promote the use of wind energy at sea, and to improve research. The Foundation has since established itself as a nonpartisan, multiregional, independent institution supporting offshore wind energy in Germany and Europe. It serves as a communication platform for political decision-makers, for business, and for research. The Foundation serves as a platform to share expertise and as an initiator of new ideas. At the same time, it also represents and bundles the various stakeholders' interests, representing them towards politics, economy, and science, as well as to the general public.
