Powering Past Borders: Inside the Baltic Wind Revolution

Germany and Denmark signed a joint development deal for the 3 GW Bornholm Energy Island, the world's first multi-terminal HVDC offshore hub

19 May 2026

Europe’s offshore grid has its first working blueprint. Germany and Denmark signed a bilateral agreement at the North Sea Summit in Hamburg, committing to jointly develop the Bornholm Energy Island. The 3 gigawatt offshore wind hub in the Baltic Sea is backed by 645 million euros from the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility.

Bornholm will become the world’s first multi-terminal high-voltage direct current hybrid interconnector. Collecting power from wind farms positioned roughly 15 kilometres offshore, it routes electricity simultaneously to both national grids via undersea cables. It will send around 2 gigawatts to Germany and 1.2 gigawatts to Denmark, enough to supply approximately three million households.

Transmission system operators 50Hertz and Energinet are leading the implementation. Siemens Energy is already under contract for four converter systems.

What distinguishes this agreement is the financial structure. For the first time, two countries have agreed to jointly finance support costs for a shared offshore wind farm. They are splitting obligations in proportion to electricity flows and projected benefits.

Momentum behind the project required overcoming real obstacles. A six-month pause in 2025 stalled progress while Germany and Denmark resolved liability questions, specifically responsibility when cross-border electricity flows are interrupted by technical faults. Both governments have now cleared those issues, giving construction a confirmed path forward.

"Bornholm Energy Island marks a new era of interconnection and shared energy security," said Danish Energy Minister Lars Aagaard. German Energy Minister Katherina Reiche called it a flagship of European cooperation and a strategic asset for shared security.

Designated one of eight priority Energy Highways under the EU Grids Package, the project arrives as European nations simultaneously pledged to develop 100 gigawatts of cross-border offshore capacity.

The unresolved issue remains how smoothly this template will adapt to multi-country systems involving different regulatory frameworks. Regulators across Europe are watching closely to see if this financial split can be replicated as the wider North Sea grid expands.