Objective
Offshore wind has emerged as a highly effective, cost competitive and a key contributor to the European energy transition challenge.
Yet, current technologies limit offshore wind deployment to shallow water depth (less than 40m) restricting the market potential to a few countries (mainly the North Sea), while the vast majority and the best wind resources are located in deep waters. The installation of wind turbines on floating foundations inevitably appears as the future of offshore wind. Floating foundation solutions unleashes the market potential with no restriction on the water depth or on the seabed soil conditions, allowing developing projects further offshore where wind is stronger and the visual impact is limited.
IDEOL, a French SME created in 2010, has emerged as one of the few international leaders in floating wind, with two demonstrators built in France and Japan, relying on its patented floating platform technology, the most cost competitive solution in the market. Its team, composed by more than 40 engineers, is globally recognized as one of the best technical team with a unique know-how and innovative approach. IDEOL is already engaged in different pre-commercial and commercial projects in France, Japan and California. It is the only European technology provider and the only foreign company having convinced the Japanese government and experts.
Its technology is characterized by its extreme compactness and simplicity, its compatibility with the existing and the future extra-large wind turbines without modification, its construction either in concrete or in steel.
LEADFLOAT aims to impose IDEOL’s solution as the market leader of floating wind by keeping its cost competitiveness advantage, leveraging on its demonstrators’ return of experience and securing early market share in key markets. It will contribute to keep Europe ahead and to positions its industry on the top of the new emerging floating-wind market over the competition from US and Japan.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Call for proposal
H2020-SMEInst-2018-2020-2
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2
Coordinator
13600 La Ciotat
France