Periodic Reporting for period 2 - ARCHIME3 (An efficient floating structure and installation of offshore large wind turbines.)
Reporting period: 2022-01-01 to 2025-02-28
To meet the EU's climate neutrality target by 2050, the European Commission has committed to increasing offshore wind capacity from the current 19 GW to at least 60 GW by 2030 and 300 GW by 2050. This represents a fifteenfold increase—an ambitious and exponential growth trajectory.
However, achieving these targets is hindered by the limitations of traditional bottom-fixed technology, which relies on shallow waters that are already highly utilized. In fact, the available space in shallow waters is estimated to cap offshore wind capacity at 112 GW—just over one-third of the 2050 goal.
To bridge this gap, floating wind platforms are essential. They allow the deployment of large turbines in deep waters farther from shore, where wind conditions are more favorable—blowing more consistently and at higher average speeds. This unlocks vast new areas for offshore wind development across EU waters.
Despite its potential, floating wind still faces significant challenges:
Costs (LCOE) must be reduced dramatically to become competitive.
Floating platform construction requires extensive port infrastructure, currently available only in a handful of global locations.
Larger turbines (>15 MW) pose issues of stability, safety, and performance on existing platform designs.
To address these challenges, we have developed and patented a disruptive concrete-based floating platform. Our design enables the safe deployment of the largest turbines, while dramatically reducing costs. It is compatible with concrete caisson construction and can be built using slip-forming techniques, eliminating the need for specialized port facilities.
Our solution is, to the best of our knowledge, the most advanced technology available for the efficient, affordable, and safe installation of the next generation of turbines (15–22 MW). Project calculations show that our platform can achieve a Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) up to 50% lower than competing concrete solutions and nearly 60% lower than steel alternatives in a mature market.
This innovation is the focus of our project, ARCHIME3, which has received funding from the EIC Accelerator Program. Our key objectives were:
To demonstrate, through calculations and physical model testing, that the platform meets industrial standards for turbines 15-22 MW.
To obtain the Approval in Principle certification as the first step in the certification roadmap.
To achieve Basic Design Certification—the most critical milestone in the certification process.
To demonstrate that the platform can be built using slip-forming in record time by conducting the first full-scale construction mock-up of the manufacturing process.
However, achieving these targets is hindered by the limitations of traditional bottom-fixed technology, which relies on shallow waters that are already highly utilized. In fact, the available space in shallow waters is estimated to cap offshore wind capacity at 112 GW—just over one-third of the 2050 goal.
To bridge this gap, floating wind platforms are essential. They allow the deployment of large turbines in deep waters farther from shore, where wind conditions are more favorable—blowing more consistently and at higher average speeds. This unlocks vast new areas for offshore wind development across EU waters.
Despite its potential, floating wind still faces significant challenges:
Costs (LCOE) must be reduced dramatically to become competitive.
Floating platform construction requires extensive port infrastructure, currently available only in a handful of global locations.
Larger turbines (>15 MW) pose issues of stability, safety, and performance on existing platform designs.
To address these challenges, we have developed and patented a disruptive concrete-based floating platform. Our design enables the safe deployment of the largest turbines, while dramatically reducing costs. It is compatible with concrete caisson construction and can be built using slip-forming techniques, eliminating the need for specialized port facilities.
Our solution is, to the best of our knowledge, the most advanced technology available for the efficient, affordable, and safe installation of the next generation of turbines (15–22 MW). Project calculations show that our platform can achieve a Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) up to 50% lower than competing concrete solutions and nearly 60% lower than steel alternatives in a mature market.
This innovation is the focus of our project, ARCHIME3, which has received funding from the EIC Accelerator Program. Our key objectives were:
To demonstrate, through calculations and physical model testing, that the platform meets industrial standards for turbines 15-22 MW.
To obtain the Approval in Principle certification as the first step in the certification roadmap.
To achieve Basic Design Certification—the most critical milestone in the certification process.
To demonstrate that the platform can be built using slip-forming in record time by conducting the first full-scale construction mock-up of the manufacturing process.
During the project, we have completed the following work:
- Platform validation through computational simulations, analyzing different phases (plinth, tower, and turbine assembly) under estimated loads and combinations for each stage (towing and service).
- Naval engineering studies (static and dynamic stability) to assess the platform's hydrodynamic behavior.
- Analysis of towing, sinking, and service phases using numerical modeling tools.
- Validation of hydrodynamic models based on survival limits, considering factors such as significant wave height, peak periods, platform orientation, towing speed, and seabed depth in various phases (towing, operation, and service).
- Physical model testing in water tanks, both with and without the turbine.
- Optimization of the platform for improved adaptability to larger turbines (up to 22 MW) and enhanced constructibility using slip-forming.
- Achievement of Approval in Principle (AIP) Certification for a 15 MW turbine.
- Completion of Basic Engineering Design (BED) Certification for a 22 MW turbine.
- Development of a construction methodology utilizing slip-forming.
- Execution of a full-scale mock-up to test and refine the slip-forming construction process.
- Platform validation through computational simulations, analyzing different phases (plinth, tower, and turbine assembly) under estimated loads and combinations for each stage (towing and service).
- Naval engineering studies (static and dynamic stability) to assess the platform's hydrodynamic behavior.
- Analysis of towing, sinking, and service phases using numerical modeling tools.
- Validation of hydrodynamic models based on survival limits, considering factors such as significant wave height, peak periods, platform orientation, towing speed, and seabed depth in various phases (towing, operation, and service).
- Physical model testing in water tanks, both with and without the turbine.
- Optimization of the platform for improved adaptability to larger turbines (up to 22 MW) and enhanced constructibility using slip-forming.
- Achievement of Approval in Principle (AIP) Certification for a 15 MW turbine.
- Completion of Basic Engineering Design (BED) Certification for a 22 MW turbine.
- Development of a construction methodology utilizing slip-forming.
- Execution of a full-scale mock-up to test and refine the slip-forming construction process.
We are witnessing the beginning of a new era in which our world will be power sustainably and wind energy is expected to become our number one source of power generation. Floating wind is the only way this can happen and as such, it is projected to be a critical component of the new energy mix. However, current floating technologies are not cost-effective and are take a long time to fabricate, directly impacting the levelized cost of energy and imposing a limit to the massive deployment.
We have patented a new concrete-based platform for the installation of floating wind turbines that offers outstanding advantages Vs competing technologies:
1) A dramatic reduction of costs in construction of a floating wind farm.
2) The possibility to complete the installation of several MWs in a matter of a few months.
3) A significant reduction of operation & maintenance costs, with an extended lifetime
4) A superior hydrodynamic performance, meaning an extraordinary safety and the highest possible efficiency in power generation.
5) Lower Levelized Cost of Energy.
Besides, our platform is the best-prepared technology for the installation of the next generation of mega turbines (certified up to 22 MW) in an efficient, affordable and safe manner.
We have patented a new concrete-based platform for the installation of floating wind turbines that offers outstanding advantages Vs competing technologies:
1) A dramatic reduction of costs in construction of a floating wind farm.
2) The possibility to complete the installation of several MWs in a matter of a few months.
3) A significant reduction of operation & maintenance costs, with an extended lifetime
4) A superior hydrodynamic performance, meaning an extraordinary safety and the highest possible efficiency in power generation.
5) Lower Levelized Cost of Energy.
Besides, our platform is the best-prepared technology for the installation of the next generation of mega turbines (certified up to 22 MW) in an efficient, affordable and safe manner.