Norwegian Companies to Explore Using Aluminium in Floating Offshore Wind Turbines

Norwegian aluminium and energy company Hydro and its compatriot World Wide Wind have signed a Letter of Intent (LoL) to explore the use of aluminium in the offshore wind industry.

The companies are partnering to develop floating wind turbines designed specifically for offshore conditions.

According to the partners, the goal is to use sustainable and recyclable materials in the construction, including aluminium.

The collaboration involves detailing turbine design, including using aluminium, producing prototypes, and building a consortium of industrial partners.

“Today, wind turbines used for offshore floating wind have more or less the same design as turbines meant for landbased wind. In effect we are moving a land-based technology offshore. In World Wide Wind we are developing a new type of floating wind turbine for deep waters, with significant benefits relative to current technology in terms of energy production, cost, scalability, and environmental footprint”, said Trond Lutdal, CEO of World Wide Wind.

Lutdal added that the new design will give the company the opportunity to use aluminium components in parts of the wind turbine structure.

Each party will assign resources to form a collaboration team, who will plan and detail relevant activities and actions, the partners said.

World Wide Wind’s integrated floating wind turbines are scalable up to 40 MW and will use fewer materials and have a smaller CO2 footprint than conventional turbines, according to the company.

A recent report, published by 4C Offshore, revealed that many countries are falling behind their 2030 floating offshore wind targets.

The report estimates 14 GW of floating wind power will be installed or in construction offshore by 2030 which represents only 5 per cent of the total expected offshore wind installations.

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