Imagine giant wind turbines that float on the ocean instead of being bolted to the seafloor, allowing them to catch stronger winds in deeper waters. This work focuses on making these floating platforms lighter and cheaper while ensuring they don't harm sea life. It's like upgrading from a small boat to a high-tech floating power plant that is easier to install and kinder to the ocean.
Floating offshore wind is currently expensive and lacks a standard design, with over 50 different concepts competing. High material costs and environmental concerns slow down the deployment of large-scale turbines in deep waters.
A 1:7 scale 15MW floating turbine system including lightweight generators, shared mooring/anchoring systems, and noise-reducing artificial reefs.
If you are a developer dealing with high installation costs in deep waters — this project developed shared mooring and anchoring systems that reduce the amount of raw materials needed. This lowers the cost per kilowatt and makes deep-sea sites more profitable.
If you are a manufacturer dealing with the massive weight of 15MW turbines — this project developed a lightweight generator and innovative rotor designs. This reduces the load on the floating structure and simplifies transport.
If you are a consultant dealing with strict environmental regulations and public opposition — this project developed artificial reefs and noise reduction techniques. This helps projects gain social acceptance and protect marine species.
It focuses on rotor upscaling, lightweight generator concepts, and shared mooring/anchoring to reduce raw material use and installation costs per-kW.
The project includes a 1:7 scale 15MW floating wind turbine tested in an open-sea laboratory.
Based on available project data, specific licensing terms are not listed, but the project involves 9 industry partners including 7 SMEs who are co-developing the technology.
It addresses marine noise emissions and develops artificial reefs to mitigate impacts on marine species and increase public acceptance.
The project runs from 2024-01-01 to 2027-12-31.
The consortium is heavily industry-driven with a 53% industry ratio, comprising 9 companies (7 of which are SMEs) and 8 academic/research partners. This balance suggests a strong push for commercial viability, with 17 partners across 8 European countries collaborating to move the technology from research to a TRL5 validated state.
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Contact us to connect with the FLOATFARM consortium for licensing and partnership opportunities.
