The Fehmarnbelt Project

Sund & Bælt and Femern Link Contractors (FLC) have entered into an agreement with SCANGRID to join a Virtual Power Plant (VPP). The agreement supports the green transition and helps Energinet stabilise the electricity grid, where the need is significant. In the tunnel site at Rødbyhavn, a control system has been installed that connects FLC’s more than 1,300 residential units to Scangrid’s flexible, cloud-based VPP solution. This enables Energinet to balance grid load in real time. In the first phase, the solution works by allowing Scangrid – as needed – to switch off groups of the heat pumps briefly and automatically supplying the residential units. The interruptions are very short, typically up to three minutes, and have no practical impact on residents. In return, Energinet can make far more efficient use of the grid and direct electricity to where it is most needed without placing additional strain on other parts of the network. The VPP solution contributes to a more stable, secure, and greener electricity system.

Strong turnout for this year’s Neighbour Day for the Fehmarnbelt Project. Just days after the historic immersion of the first element of the Femern Belt tunnel, 850 neighbours and interested visitors stopped by this year’s Neighbour Day in Rødbyhavn. The day offered insight into the construction works and the opportunity to experience the project up close. The immersion of the first tunnel element also added an extra perspective to the visit to the construction site and was a key topic in many of the conversations between neighbours and staff throughout the day. As in previous years, interest extended across the Fehmarnbelt – around 100 guests from Germany took part, contributing to a day characterised by dialogue and curiosity across borders. Neighbour Day provides a unique opportunity to get close to one of Europe’s largest infrastructure projects and to gain a better understanding of both the scale and the progress of the work. Thank you to everyone who stopped by and helped make the day a success.

A special thank you to all of you who follow the Fehmarnbelt project closely.   It has been some intense and very exciting days on the construction of the Fehmarnbelt tunnel. The first tunnel element in the 18-kilometre-long immersed tunnel to Germany has now been immersed in the tunnel trench – an important step in the work of binding Denmark and Germany closer together and bringing us closer to Europe.   In connection with this major milestone, we have received video greetings from some of the project's many supporters and partners. We greatly appreciate the support and commitment that surrounds this historic project. Watch the greetings in the video below.   At the same time, we would like to send a special thank you to all of you who follow the project. Lars Sandahl Sørensen Apostolos Tzitzikostas Marie-Louise Brehm Nielsen Patrick Schnieder Claus Ruhe Madsen Wirtschaftsministerium SH German Federal Ministry of Transport Co-funded by the European Union

The immersion of the Fehmarnbelt tunnel’s first tunnel element is now successfully over, and the first element – which His Majesty King Frederik X of Denmark has inaugurated – will be named “Rødbyhavn”.    Rødbyhavn on the Danish island of Lolland is currently home to Northern Europe’s largest construction site. This is where the elements for the Fehmarnbelt tunnel are being built – the world’s longest combined immersed tunnel for both road and rail. The tunnel will connect Rødbyhavn in Denmark with Puttgarden in Germany, and Scandinavia with Central Europe.    The immersion of the first tunnel element, “Rødbyhavn”, therefore marks an important milestone in the construction of the largest infrastructure project in Danish history and one of the largest infrastructure projects in Europe.    The Fehmarnbelt tunnel will consist of a total of 89 elements, each of which will be given its own name. The Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link plays a central role in the important European Scan-Med transport corridor, which links Scandinavia with Central and Southern Europe. Each element will therefore be named after various towns, cities and regions along the north–south corridor within the European transport network, which extends all the way to the Mediterranean.    Each town along the route also gets an illustration showing the size of a tunnel element in comparison with a local building or landmark. Here you can see the tunnel element in relation to the silos at the port of Rødbyhavn. Mikkel Hemmingsen European Commission Apostolos Tzitzikostas

First tunnel element for the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel lowered into position. The first tunnel element for the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link has now been precisely positioned on the seabed off Rødbyhavn – an important step in establishing a new, direct transport corridor between Scandinavia, Eastern Denmark and the rest of Europa. Following a carefully planned operation lasting several days, the 217-metre-long concrete element, weighing more than 73,000 tonnes, was transported from the tunnel factory and lowered into an excavated trench. The Fehmarnbelt Tunnel is a central part of the trans-European transport network and is intended to strengthen mobility, connectivity and capacity across Europe. Once completed, the tunnel will contribute to shorter travel times, more efficient freight transport and closer links between regions – from Scandinavia via Germany and onwards into Europe. The project comprises a total of 89 tunnel elements and, at 18 kilometres, will become the world’s longest immersed tunnel.

An important milestone has been reached 👏 After a voyage in the Fehmarnbelt, the 217‑metre‑long tunnel element has now arrived at the immersion point near the tunnel portal. This marks the transition into a new phase of the immersion process. With assistance from tugboats, the tunnel element will now be positioned with great precision. This is a task that requires meticulous planning and a high level of expertise. When the element is later lowered onto the seabed, it must be connected to the portal with an accuracy of just a few centimetres. This is engineering history in the making.

The first tunnel element is now being towed out for immersion. The first of a total of 89 concrete elements for the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel has now departed from the tunnel factory and is on its way to the immersion site off the tunnel portal at Rødbyhavn. The transport to the tunnel trench is around two kilometres and is carried out using tugboats as well as the specialised vessel IVY, which will handle the immersion operation itself. The tunnel element is 217 metres long and 42 metres wide, so the tow is carried out slowly and safely. We expect it will take several hours before the element reaches its destination. The tunnel element contains tubes for motorway and railway traffic as well as technical installations. During immersion, it will be positioned in the prepared tunnel trench on the seabed through a controlled maneuver, with a precision of a few millimetres. Sund & Bælt is the client for the major tunnel project, which is being delivered in close cooperation with the international consortium Femern Link Contractors (FLC). You can follow the construction work on our livestream camera, located at the viewing point “Pilen” a few hundred metres from the tunnel portal: 

The expansion of Copenhagen Airport Station strengthens rail capacity across the corridor connecting Scandinavia with the rest of Europe 🚆🔗   With new platforms and increased throughput, the station removes a key bottleneck and improves logistics capacity for both passenger and freight rail – from Rødbyhavn in the south of Denmark, via the Øresund Line, and onward to Sweden and Europe.   At the inauguration, CEO Mikkel Hemmingsen welcomed representatives from across the corridor: Carl Johan Sonesson, Chair of Region Skåne; Lars Gaardhøj, Chair of the Capital Region of Denmark; Christian Wedell-Neergaard, Member of the Regional Council of Region Zealand; and Allan S. Andersen, Mayor of Tårnby Municipality.   Together, these investments are strengthening cross‑border rail connections and creating a more robust and future‑ready logistics corridor between Northern Europe and the continent.

Preparing the first tunnel element for immersion 🏗️   Work on the first tunnel element of the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel has now reached the next stage. The element is the first of a total of 89 to be immersed and is now being filled with 4,500 tonnes of ballast concrete. This increases the overall weight to ensure a controlled immersion on the seabed at a later stage. Without the additional ballast, the tunnel element will stay afloat.    Access for construction work inside the element is provided via a temporary system of five shafts. These are bolted to watertight steel bulkheads that keep the water out of the tunnel element. The shafts enable safe access for personnel, transport of materials, ventilation and emergency functions during this phase.   Once the pouring is completed, most of the equipment will be removed from the element, the doors in the steel bulkheads are closed, and the element is ready for towing.   This marks the first operational step towards a tunnel consisting of 89 elements between Rødbyhavn and Puttgarden.

Hvordan overvåger man sjældne insekter – helt uden at indfange dem? Sund & Bælt indgår i samarbejde med Ramboll og forskere fra Lund University om at teste ny teknologi på to udvalgte naturområder ved Femern Bælt-projektet på Lolland. Her vil laserlys og vingefrekvens afsløre insekternes tilstedeværelse. EcoTech har skrevet om projektet, som du kan læse mere om via link i kommentarfeltet. Vi glæder os til at se resultatet af teknologien.