Belgium sank 23 concrete blocks in the North Sea to build world's first artificial energy island in a €7B project

Forty-five kilometres off the Belgian coast, in the middle of the North Sea, humans are creating something that did not naturally exist in the water. It is the world's first artificial energy island the size of eight football fields, being built with 23 giant concrete caissons, each weighing approximately 22,000 tons. While one might assume that the island would house humans or grow a wildlife sanctuary, its purpose is none of these. It is being built to collect all the electricity generated by future Belgian offshore wind farms and send it to the mainland via submarine cables.The project known as Princess Isabel Island is being promoted by the Belgian electricity system operator Elia. It is being built by the TM Edison consortium, formed by the Belgian engineering firms DEME and Jan De Nul. At the end of January 2026, those in charge announced a key milestone: the last caisson had been manufactured and was afloat. And that's when the decisive phase begins.A power sourceIn total, the operation spans two years, with pauses during the winter storm season. Each box measures approximately 58 metres long, 28 metres wide and between 23 and 32 metres high, depending on the configuration o...