We are a key partner in the European Horizon2020-funded programme LIFES50+. Commencing in Jul 2015, the project will run for 40 months and will focus on proving the innovative technology that is being developed for floating substructures for 10MW wind turbines at water depths greater than 50m.
The partners
The project is led by Norway’s SINTEF and includes partners Politechnico de Milano, DTU, Ramboll, Universität Stuttgart, Iberdrola I&C, Ideol, DNV GL, Tecnalia, Insitut de Recerca en Energia Catalunya, ORE Catapult and Olav Olsen.
The first step in the project will be to optimize and qualify, by early 2017, two floating substructures concepts for 10MW turbines. The consortium partners have chosen to focus on large wind turbines as these are seen as key to reducing the cost of energy generated from offshore renewables. The chosen concepts will be taken from an existing list of four and the selection will be made based on technical, economic, and industrial criteria. This methodology will be supported by existing numerical tools and targeted development and experimental work.
ORE Catapult will lead on the uncertainty and risk management work package of the project, evaluating the risks associated with the substructures being developed and designing and developing a risk assessment methodology for floating substructures.
Ultimately, the project will facilitate innovation and competition in the industry, reduce risks, and therefore contribute to a lower levelised cost of energy. Significant findings from the project will be disseminated publicly and will be of interest to developers, designers, manufacturers and decision makers.
The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union Horizon2020 programme under the agreement H2020-LCE-2014-1-640741
