Gazelle Modular Hybrid Floater to Be Built in Dubai

Floating offshore wind platform developer Gazelle Wind Power has signed a memorandum of understanding with Ferrofab FZE, a UAE-based engineering and manufacturing firm, to establish a Center for Manufacturing Excellence at the Ferrofab Jebel Ali facility in Dubai.

This Center is being established to manufacture a Gazelle hybrid modular offshore wind platform, based on Gazelle’s proprietary technology, that can be scaled to support any make and model of wind turbines, including models upwards of 20 MW, the Dublin-based developer said.

”Ferrofab has a reputation for engineering, manufacturing, and execution that is needed to bring our technology to the market at the pace we need to address climate change,” said Gazelle CEO Jon Salazar.

”While many offshore wind projects originate from the oil and gas industry, Gazelle’s hybrid floating platform is designed solely to accelerate the development of the offshore wind industry and contribute to reducing the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). Having a collaborator with experience in both sectors will allow us to deploy our solution and hasten the move to net-zero successfully.”

Ferrofab boasts a total of 800,000 square feet of manufacturing facilities in Jebel Ali, which is located approximately 40 kilometres southwest of Dubai. The company has experience in engineering and manufacturing offshore and onshore process equipment and structures for the wind, oil, and gas industries, which will be leveraged to accelerate the manufacturing process for Gazelle’s floating wind platforms and the assembly and distribution to ports worldwide.

”Based on our past experience in manufacturing offshore structures, Gazelle’s unique floating platform technology is on track to spur the needed evolution of the offshore wind industry,” said Johan Moraes, Executive Director of Ferrofab FZE.

”With its innovative design and modular components, the deployment of this solution will be a revolutionary step in the production of renewable energy.”

Over the past year, Gazelle has been lining partners, to advance the implementation of the company’s floating platform system, including MOUs previously signed with VCE, Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group, and Maersk Supply Service. Gazelle also successfully completed its first-ever crowdfunding campaign and named four additional industry leaders to its board of directors.

Gazelle’s hybrid floating wind platform with a dynamic mooring system is said to split the ‘two classical functions’ of buoyancy and stability for a lighter and more agile platform than current market designs and is said to boast the advantage of faster deployment in deeper waters.

Gazelle plans to install a 2 MW pilot wind turbine at the Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (PLOCAN) test site offshore Spain in the second quarter of 2023.