Imagine a giant wind turbine floating in deep water, held steady by a concrete anchor like a balloon tied to a weight. Instead of heavy copper wires, it uses lightweight aluminum cables to send power back to shore. This setup makes it cheaper and easier to install wind farms in deep oceans where the wind is strongest.
Deep-water offshore wind is currently too expensive due to heavy steel foundations and costly copper cabling. Additionally, permitting and maintenance in deep seas lead to low turbine availability and high costs.
A 4.8 MW floating wind system featuring a concrete tension leg platform and an aluminum dynamic cable design.
If you are an offshore wind farm developer dealing with high installation costs in deep waters — this project developed a concrete tension leg platform that is modular and self-installing. This allows for a target LCOE of 85.3 EUR/MWh by the project end.
If you are a cable manufacturer dealing with the weight and cost of copper in deep-sea environments — this project developed an aluminum dynamic cable design. This makes the cables lighter, cheaper, and safer for operation and maintenance.
If you are a marine engineering firm dealing with the environmental impact of steel foundations — this project developed an environment-friendly concrete platform. This design is scalable and reduces the overall environmental footprint of deep-water installations.
The project aims for an LCOE of 85.3 EUR/MWh at the end of the project, with a long-term roadmap to reach 43.3 EUR/MWh by 2030 and 32.3 EUR/MWh by 2050.
Yes, the platform is designed to be scalable and modular. Market analysis during the project indicates a trend toward larger turbines with nominal power up to 15-22 MW.
Based on available project data, specific IP or licensing agreements are not detailed, though the project was coordinated by BLUENEWABLES SL.
The project expects to increase energy production by 3-4% through platform stability and an additional 5-10% by increasing turbine availability via an optimized O&M strategy.
The project period ran from 2022-11-01 to 2025-05-31, targeting a technology readiness level of TRL 7.
The consortium is heavily industry-driven, with 80% of the 10 partners being industrial entities (8 industry, 2 research). This high industry ratio, including 4 SMEs across 5 countries (EL, ES, FR, PT, UK), suggests a strong focus on commercial viability and supply chain readiness rather than pure academic research.
Contact BLUENEWABLES SL in Spain for details on the concrete platform and aluminum cable IP.
Contact us to find alternative partners for deep-water wind deployment after the INFINITE project termination.
