ACCIONA and Ørsted have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop solutions to meet the challenge of large-scale foundation manufacturing for offshore wind farms. The agreement includes the development of foundation designs that will provide easily adaptable solutions for offshore wind turbines of various sizes and depths. The two companies will evaluate the mass production of cost-competitive construction solutions based on floating concrete platforms and explore the use of materials such as bio-cement and bio-concrete.
This alliance combines Ørsted’s 30 years of experience in the development of offshore wind energy projects with the expertise of ACCIONA’s Infrastructure Division in large-scale construction projects as well as a solid knowledge of concrete structures and offshore works.
Projects respecting environmental rules
The deployment of these projects for the offshore renewable energy industry will be under strict criteria of positive environmental, social and economic impact. ACCIONA has extensive experience in all types of construction processes, where hiring local labor, using local suppliers and materials, and controlling the supply chain are of great importance, ensuring an overall positive impact.
With this agreement, the two companies will help create a strong European supply chain to support the continent’s portfolio of floating wind projects. The European Union has set a target of 60GW of installed offshore wind power capacity by 2030 and 300GW by 2050, with these wind farms acquiring an important role in providing clean energy in the process of decarbonizing the economy.
Objective to industrialize floating wind energy
“The goal of our partnership with ACCIONA is to move from innovation to the industrialization phase of floating wind,” said Rasmus Errboe, executive vice president and CEO of the Europe region at Ørsted. “Advancing floating wind technology and bringing it to market is a key strategic objective for Ørsted, and supply chain partnerships are the way to get there.”
ACCIONA’s Infrastructure Division has developed several innovative concepts for the wind industry in recent years, for projects with fixed and floating foundations. All these solutions aim to industrialize the process of manufacturing, assembling and transporting offshore foundations using concrete. ACCIONA has specialized maritime equipment and machinery, and has three floating docks, including the Kugira, the largest in Europe.
