Blue Hammer, a low-noise pile driver hatched by Dutch technology outfit Fistuca, will be put through its paces off the Netherlands as part of large-scale demonstration project being shepherded by the UK Carbon Trust.

The device, which promises to dampen underwater noise levels during piling by up to 20dB and reduce the fatigue damage during installation by up to 90%, is also calculated to enable life-of-field savings for a €33-40m for a 720MW offshore wind farm – equal to a levelised cost of energy (LCOE) reduction of €900,000-1.2m/MWh.