NextGeo secures deal to chart path for Dutch offshore wind cables
Italian marine geoscience firm Next Geosolutions has secured a contract worth approximately €9 million from Dutch transmission system operator TenneT to conduct seabed surveys supporting a major offshore wind project in the southern North Sea.
The work centres on the Voordelta-Nederwiek 3 wind area. This is one of the sites earmarked under TenneT's Roadmap 2030 – the Dutch grid operator's programme to connect a string of large offshore wind farms to the onshore electricity network by the end of the decade. NextGeo's remit is to assess whether proposed cable corridors are technically viable and to flag any obstacles before construction crews arrive.
On the technical side, the Milan-listed company will carry out geophysical and geotechnical surveys along the planned cable route, combining seabed mapping with deep soil sampling down to 40 metres. Teams will also scan for unexploded ordnance, a routine but critical step in the shallow waters of the southern North Sea, where wartime munitions remain a live concern. Operations span nearshore and tidal areas and are scheduled for completion by the third quarter of 2026.
Demanding nearshore environments
The contract fits a broader pattern for NextGeo, which has positioned itself as a survey partner for the offshore wind sector as European energy companies race to build out transmission infrastructure. Valentina De Rienzo, the company's CCO, said the award reflected the confidence a major European grid operator had placed in the group's technical capabilities and its ability to operate in demanding nearshore environments.
TenneT, which operates high-voltage grids in both the Netherlands and Germany, is overseeing one of the most ambitious offshore grid expansion programmes on the continent. Nederwiek 3 is one of several designated wind zones that will feed into the Dutch government's target of sharply expanding offshore wind capacity over the coming decade.
For NextGeo, the deal adds to a growing order book in the energy transition space and underscores the rising demand for specialist marine survey work as developers move from planning to active construction across the North Sea.
