FIBREGY · Project

Corrosion-Proof Composite Structures That Cut Offshore Wind Maintenance Costs

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Offshore wind turbines and tidal platforms are mostly built from steel, and the ocean eats steel alive — corrosion alone accounts for about 60% of maintenance costs. FIBREGY replaced steel structural components with fibre-reinforced plastic composites, the same family of materials used in aircraft and racing yachts, but engineered for massive offshore energy platforms. Think of it like switching from a car body that rusts out every few years to one that simply doesn't corrode. The team built real-scale demonstrator parts — including a 9.2-metre platform section and a 10-metre tower — to prove these composites can handle the job at full size.

By the numbers

60%

Share of offshore maintenance costs caused by corrosion

9.2m

Height of real-scale W2Power platform demonstrator

10m

Dimension of 1/6-scale tower demonstrator

1.5m

Diameter of tower demonstrator

Consortium partners

Countries represented in consortium

57%

Industry partner ratio in consortium

The business problem

What needed solving

Offshore wind and tidal energy operators face enormous maintenance bills because their steel structures corrode in saltwater — corrosion alone drives approximately 60% of offshore maintenance costs. Preventive maintenance is expensive and shortens asset life, while the sheer volume of steel in offshore platforms means degradation is constant and unavoidable. The industry needs structural materials that simply don't corrode, without sacrificing the strength required for large marine energy platforms.

The solution

What was built

The project built three real-scale demonstrators: a full-scale 9.2m GRP connection piece for the W2Power floating wind platform, a composite turbine housing using filament winding manufacturing, and a 1/6-scale tower demonstrator at 10m height and 1.5m diameter. Beyond hardware, they delivered validated FRP design procedures, production guidelines, inspection and monitoring methodologies, and advanced simulation software tools — 18 deliverables in total.

Audience

Who needs this

Offshore wind farm developers and operators (e.g., Ørsted, Equinor, Iberdrola)Floating wind platform designers and manufacturersTidal and wave energy device companiesLarge-scale FRP and composite fabrication companiesOffshore asset maintenance and inspection service providers

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Offshore Wind Energy

enterprise

Target: Offshore wind farm developers and operators

If you are an offshore wind operator spending heavily on corrosion maintenance — this project developed fibre-reinforced polymer structural components for floating wind platforms and validated them with a real-scale 9.2m demonstrator. The materials are immune to saltwater corrosion, directly attacking the problem that drives approximately 60% of offshore maintenance costs. With 14 consortium partners across 7 countries, the design guidelines and production methods are ready for industrial adoption.

Marine and Tidal Energy

mid-size

Target: Tidal power platform manufacturers

If you are a tidal energy company struggling with equipment degradation in aggressive marine environments — this project built and tested a composite turbine housing demonstrator using filament winding manufacturing. The corrosion-immune materials eliminate the constant repair cycle that plagues metal components underwater. The project delivered new design procedures and inspection methodologies specifically for large FRP marine structures.

Composite Materials Manufacturing

any

Target: FRP manufacturers and fabrication companies

If you are a composites manufacturer looking to enter the offshore energy market — this project created validated production methods, inspection protocols, and design guidelines for building large-scale FRP structural components. The consortium included 8 industry partners and 7 SMEs who tested these methods on real-scale parts up to 9.2m in height. The project essentially wrote the playbook for manufacturing structural composites at offshore energy scale.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

How much can this actually save on maintenance costs?

According to the project data, corrosion accounts for approximately 60% of offshore maintenance costs. Since fibre-reinforced polymers are immune to corrosion, adopting FRP structural components targets the single largest maintenance cost driver. Exact savings depend on the specific platform, but eliminating the root cause of 60% of maintenance spend represents a major cost reduction opportunity.

Has this been tested at industrial scale or is it still lab-stage?

The project built real-scale demonstrators, not lab samples. These include a full-scale 9.2m platform connection piece, a turbine housing demonstrator with filament winding manufacturing, and a 1/6-scale tower at 10m height and 1.5m diameter. This is an Innovation Action (IA) project, which the EU funds specifically for near-market technology validation.

What about intellectual property and licensing?

The consortium of 14 partners across 7 countries developed the materials, design procedures, and production methodologies. IP arrangements would need to be discussed with the consortium members. Based on available project data, at least one deliverable (the tower demonstrator report) was marked as public.

Do these composite structures meet offshore certification requirements?

The project specifically developed qualification and audit procedures for FRP materials in offshore applications, along with new design guidelines. They also created inspection and monitoring methodologies. Based on the project objectives, these were designed to satisfy the requirements for structural use in large offshore platforms, though final certification would depend on the classification society involved.

How long did development take and what is the current status?

The project ran from January 2021 to April 2024 and is now closed. The real-scale demonstrators were scheduled for completion by month 24-30 of the project. The design procedures, production methods, and software analysis tools developed during the project are available from the consortium partners.

Can these materials be used in existing platform designs or only new ones?

The project re-engineered two existing Renewable Energy Offshore Platform concepts in FRP, which means they specifically addressed retrofit and redesign scenarios, not just clean-sheet designs. The advanced simulation tools they validated can be used to evaluate FRP substitution in other existing platform designs.

Consortium

Who built it

The FIBREGY consortium is heavily industry-oriented, with 8 out of 14 partners coming from industry and 7 being SMEs — a 57% industry ratio that signals strong commercial drive. The 7-country spread across Europe (Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, Ireland, Norway, Portugal) covers the continent's major offshore wind markets, particularly the North Sea and Atlantic corridors. The coordinator is CIMNE, a Spanish engineering research centre specializing in numerical methods, which anchors the simulation and design tools. The mix of 2 universities, 3 research centres, and 8 industry players means this project was built to move technology from lab to factory floor, not to publish papers.

CENTRE INTERNACIONAL DE METODES NUMERICS EN ENGINYERIACoordinator · ES
BUREAU VERITAS MARINE & OFFSHORE REGISTRE INTERNATIONAL DE CLASSIFICATION DE NAVIRES ET DE PLATEFORMES OFFSHOREparticipant · FR
EXAILparticipant · FR
TUCO YACHT VAERFT APSparticipant · DK
CORSO MAGENTAparticipant · FR
COMPASS INGENIERIA Y SISTEMAS SAparticipant · ES
UNIVERSITY OF LIMERICKparticipant · IE
ENEROCEAN SLparticipant · ES
AVK-INDUSTRIEVEREINIGUNG VERSTARKTEKUNSTSTOFFE EVparticipant · DE
TECNICAS Y SERVICIOS DE INGENIERÍA, S.L.participant · ES
INEGI - INSTITUTO DE CIENCIA E INOVACAO EM ENGENHARIA MECANICA E ENGENHARIA INDUSTRIALparticipant · PT
UNIVERSIDAD POLITECNICA DE MADRIDthirdparty · ES

How to reach the team

CENTRE INTERNACIONAL DE METODES NUMERICS EN ENGINYERIA (CIMNE), Barcelona, Spain — reach out to their offshore composites or marine structures team

Order a report on this consortium See CENTRE INTERNACIONAL DE METODES NUMERICS EN ENGINYERIA profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want an introduction to the FIBREGY team to discuss licensing their FRP design guidelines, production methods, or simulation tools for your offshore operations? Contact SciTransfer — we connect businesses with EU research teams.

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