First realized: Jan De Nul contributes to the construction of the Princess Elisabeth Island

In the heart of one of the busiest shipping routes in the world, a unique project will soon begin: the Princess Elisabeth Island. This artificial energy island in the Belgian North Sea will play a crucial role in the energy transition. This transition involves the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. And who better to help build this world-first than the experts at Jan De Nul?

The Princess Elisabeth Island is no ordinary project. With a surface area of 6 hectares and built from 23 gigantic caissons, it is a remarkable feat of engineering. Each caisson is a concrete giant measuring 58 meters in length, 28 meters in width and 28 meters in height, with an impressive weight of no less than 20,000 tonnes. Jan De Nul, as a partner within TM EDISON, has taken on the challenging task of constructing these caissons in the port of Vlissingen. “The entire process for one caisson takes about 85 days,” says Kristof Verhaeghe. “But thanks to our smart shifting system, we can have five caissons in production at the same time.”

For this project, Jan De Nul was looking for a practical solution for a workspace that could withstand the harsh conditions in the Zeeland port. They chose the Workbox, our latest model of container shelter with a flat roof. This solution is ideal for port areas, where weather conditions are often severe with lots of rain and wind. Thanks to the flat roof, the Workbox is better able to withstand the elements. Kristof explains: “We wanted to create a workspace where our people can work comfortably and under shelter, despite the harsh Zeeland weather conditions.”

The standard 4 by 6 meter Workbox was not large enough for the setup Jan De Nul had in mind. They presented this challenge to our sales department. Our engineering department then calculated, designed and assessed whether it would be possible to develop a 6 by 6 meter Workbox that would also meet the strict European standards and comply with the EN13782 standard. This proved to be feasible.

The workspace was created by positioning a custom-made Workbox and two containers diagonally. At the rear, there is an open side container, and on the right side, a container placed in a straight position. This setup results in three covered openings to the containers, providing better protection for the work against rain and strong winds.