LOC Renewables Takes Majority Stake in Innosea

LOC Renewables, a part of LOC Group, has acquired a 70% stake in the French marine energy engineering company Innosea.

Innosea was founded in 2012, a spin-off company from Centrale de Nantes maritime & offshore engineering research department, and is based in Nantes.

The company has experience in engineering and modelling for the marine environment, particularly in the areas of offshore structures and turbine engineering for fixed and floating substructures.

With a team of 25, Innosea offers a range of services to support the development cycle of marine renewable technologies and projects, from concept studies and detailed engineering, to basin and sea trials, surveys and certification support.

INNOSEA’s main areas of expertise include the design of fixed and floating substructures for the offshore wind, with all related hydrodynamic, metocean, structural, aeroelastic analyses. The company also owns several software tools such as PREDIN, a dedicated offshore wind foundation integrated basic design commercial software.

Combined, LOC Renewables and Innosea will offer an array of services to support the offshore wind sector, ranging from the planning and permitting stages through to operation and maintenance of the completed farm.

R.V. Ahilan, Joint Group Chief Executive of LOC, said: “By acquiring INNOSEA, we are able to consolidate this offering ‘under one roof’, streamlining the process for our customers and furthering our strategy of ambitious growth in the renewables market. This acquisition, coming hard on the heels of our recent initiatives in geoscience and turbine engineering, enables LOC Renewables to provide a comprehensive capability, not only for complete early wind farm development but also for the integrated design that is so crucial to reducing costs in the sector.”

Innosea will lead on services including site-specific wind turbine modelling, fixed and floating substructure design or package management and site surveys and investigations. Later on in the development cycle, LOC Renewables will take responsibility for services including Marine Warranty Surveys (MWS) during the transport and installation phases, cable installation and, in terms of long-term O&M management, vessel SIA/SSA and logistics design.

Hakim Mouslim, joint founder of Iinnosea, added: “This acquisition offers an exciting opportunity for both of our companies to accelerate our growth in the market, allowing us to extend the services we provide to our Clients and to deliver these globally together with LOC Renewables. In turn, our expertise and leadership in the early stages of project development will complement LOC’s existing offering.”