TFI Marine’s SeaSpring (image1) is a mooring component which, when inserted into the mooring line of floating platform, changes the behaviour of that mooring line in a desired manner to deliver significant cost and environmental benefits to the overall project. It allows the compliance of the mooring line to be tailored to the needs of a floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT), which can half the loads in the mooring line and reduce fatigue damage by 80%. This halves the required material in the mooring line, shrinking all components from the anchor to platform. The outcome is reduced component costs, installation costs, and operational costs, while allowing more environmentally friendly decisions to be adopted, reducing footprints to support co-use of the environment, eliminating seabed damage and using the licensed area more efficiently.
Project 190107195 (“TfI SeaSprings”) was awarded by the EUROPEAN INNOVATION COUNCIL AND SMES EXECUTIVE AGENCY (EISMEA) to TFI Marine in 2023 to bring their SeaSpring products to the FOWT market. It consists of 3 high level objectives:
- Extend FOWT demonstration to integrate sensors into a prototype commercial FOWT SeaSpring, completing all certification tasks
- Complete the manufacturing process development activities and the commissioning of the commercial scale factory
- Complete the commercial scale SeaSpring development and become ready for market