Technip Energies supporting TLP-based floating wind development
Offshore staff
PARIS – Technip Energies has acquired a 16.3% stake in X1 Wind, a renewable energy start-up company based in Barcelona, Spain.
X1’s offshore wind turbine floater concept is said to offer environmental and operational benefits. Under the terms of the agreement, Technip Energies will hold two of nine seats on X1 Wind’s board of directors.
It will also support X1 Wind’s management to commercialize the concept through its engineering, offshore project execution and industrialization capabilities, with a view to including the technology in Technip Energies’ floating offshore wind offering.
The concept is based on a tension leg platform (TLP) mooring, with a weathervaning system and a downwind turbine. The relatively lightweight floater design allows for a reduced steel requirement and a more efficient and restricted mooring system, Technip Energies said, minimizing the impact on the seabed.
It is also scalable for turbines of 15+ MW, with potential for cost-effective deployment for large-scale offshore wind farms.
Carlos Casanovas devised the initial concept in 2012 while studying at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In recent years, X1 Wind has executed various positive tank testing campaigns and completed the design, assembly, and load-out of a part-scale demonstrator in the Canary Islands.
It was also recently awarded support under the European Innovation Council Accelerator program to develop and scale up its innovations and to fast-track commercial operations.
X1/Technip Energies will collaborate on development of a first commercial-scale demonstrator.
02/08/2022
