US Department of Energy (DOE) selects Principle Power and Aker Solutions to advance plans for serial manufacturing of WindFloat® foundations

15 May 2024

Principle Power and Aker Solutions (“FloatHOME” consortium) have been chosen as a winner for the second phase of the U.S. Floating Offshore Wind Readiness (FLOWIN) Prize by the DOE. The award consists of a $450,000 cash prize and $100,000 in technical assistance from the DOE National Labs. Prize money is being used to advance WindFloat® manufacturing, supply chain, and deployment plans in the US market.

We are honored to be selected for the FLOWIN Phase 2 award. We were able to extract highly valuable feedback from the supply chain to better enable project successes on the first wave of U.S. West Coast projects. We are building a new industry – not just a singular project.

Previously in Phase 2, we combined our insights from 75MW project in operation using WindFloat® and feedback from domestic supply chain partners. The work has allowed the consortium to plan for maximized automation, streamlined project execution plans, and optimization of final assembly processes for serial manufacturing of low-risk solutions.

We look forward to further engage with the US floating wind communities in Phase 3 as we optimize our design and delivery solutions for the unique challenges of the U.S. floating wind market

Seth Price
— Vice President of Technology & Innovation for Principle Power

At Aker Solutions, we have decades of fabrication and execution expertise having delivered large and complex structures to the offshore industry since the 1980s. Utilizing our own yards, supply chain network and international footprint, we have the skills, know-how and infrastructure needed to optimize the design, engineering, and construction of floating offshore wind projects globally.

The FLOWIN prize has provided us with a unique opportunity to explore ways to serialize fabrication, drive further innovation and reduce costs for floating offshore wind.

Christoffer Valstad
— Senior Vice President, Renewables US at Aker Solutions

FloatHOME consortium has engaged both large-scale fabricators and smaller supply chain partners to assess their existing capacities and specific manufacturing requirements. This collaborative approach has enabled the consortium to build and evaluate various scenarios for serial production and assembly of WindFloat® foundations to support the vision of using purpose-built facilities to produce subcomponent modules and efficient assembly within American ports.

These insights will be instrumental in supporting the next stage of the competition, which includes detailed designs for dedicated new facilities, redevelopment of ports, optimizations in platform design for manufacturability, and design engineering refinements to lower cost and increase domestic content for floating wind projects in the United States. We aim to foster a competitive environment that supports domestic infrastructure, the supply chain, and workforce, thereby promoting the sustainable growth of floating wind in our home market.

The Biden-Harris administration wants to deploy ambitious 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2030, and 15 GW of floating offshore wind by 2035. To achieve these targets, it is vital to engage the entire value chain in building capacity to deliver these ambitious volumes. By advancing to the next phase of the FLOWIN Prize, the FloatHOME consortium is set to play a pivotal role to ensure the industry meets these objectives on time and on budget, while maximizing benefits to local communities and minimizing the carbon footprint throughout the supply chain.

The FLOWIN Prize will award a total prize pool of $5.75M, plus vouchers for technical support from DOE national laboratories to transition floating platform technologies to serial production, while fostering competitive domestic supply chains. The second round of the FLOWIN prize awarded $450,000 to each consortium, who are now eligible to compete in the third phase of the prize.

About Principle Power

Principle Power is a pure play global technology and services company for the floating wind energy market. The company’s proven WindFloat® product portfolio – consisting of the WindFloat T and WindFloat F – is unlocking offshore wind potential worldwide by enabling projects to harvest the best wind resource, irrespective of water depth or seabed condition. Principle Power acts as a trusted partner to developers, independent power producers, utilities and EPCs, supporting its customers throughout the entire lifecycle of their projects. With 75 MW of capacity already in operation, Principle Power is now guided by its “300x30” industrialization vision to deliver 300 floating wind turbines by 2030, propelling the industry into the gigawatt scale era. The company has secured exclusivity to supply WindFloat® technology to commercial-scale projects in all key floating wind markets totaling 10 GW of projects under design contract.

For more information, visit principlepower.com

About Aker Solutions

Aker Solutions delivers integrated solutions, products, and services to the global energy industry. The company enables low-carbon oil and gas production and develops renewable solutions to meet future energy needs. By combining innovative digital solutions and predictable project execution, Aker Solutions accelerates the transition to sustainable energy production.

For more information, visit www.akersolutions.com

About FLOWIN Prize

The Floating Offshore Wind Readiness (FLOWIN) Prize is the first-ever from the The Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). A three-phase competition aimed at unlocking the 2.8-terawatt potential US floating wind opportunity through the development of cost-effective technology and competitive domestic supply chains. The FloatHOME consortium was one of the winners of the second round and is now eligible to compete in the third phase of the prize.

For more information, visit: https://americanmadechallenges.org/challenges/flowin

17 September 2024