Californian floating wind technology developer, Aikido Technologies, will test a scaled prototype of its technology, said to be the world’s first upending semi-submersible platform, through a project named Aikido One.
Aikido Technologies has awarded a contract for the fabrication of a 1:4 scale, 100 kW floating wind platform to Chet Morrison Contractors (Morrison), a Louisiana-based energy services company.
Morrison will construct the platform at its facility in Harvey, Louisiana, with the work planned to take place during the second and third quarter of this year, after which Aikido will begin a test programme.
According to the floating wind technology company, the Aikido One project will demonstrate how the platform can enable offshore wind project developers to increase the speed of deployment and reduce costs.
“The Aikido One Demonstrator will be a transformational project for the US offshore wind industry for two reasons: first, it represents the largest floating wind platform constructed in the US to date; second, it is the world’s first upending semi-submersible platform,” Sam Kanner , CEO of Aikido Technologies, said.
“Proving this concept in realistic conditions will show how the Aikido Platform can solve challenges facing the floating wind industry in the US and around the world, relating to serial production and limited port space. We are thrilled to be working with such an experienced and well-respected firm as Morrison.”
The company was founded in 2022 with the support of the Breakthrough Energy Fellows programme. At the beginning of 2023, Aikido said it planned to launch a demonstration project this year.
The San Franciso-based company says its floating foundation enables the installation of fully assembled wind turbines from ports, regardless of height restrictions, and that its technology is also suitable for ports with shallow waters with its low transit draught.
The Aikido platform facilitates transporting a fully assembled unit horizontally either on a barge or using tugboats and then, once at its designated offshore location, upending the floater using water ballast. The platform is then locked out by inserting a pin into each of the frames that form the platform.
This way, an entire wind turbine, together with its foundation, could be assembled at a dry dock, without the need to switch ports or yards for component manufacturing, final assembly and turbine integration, Aikido’s CEO said in an interview with offshoreWIND.biz in March 2023.
Last year, Aikido said the plan was to launch a 2 MW pilot project by the end of this year and then install a demonstrator project with a turbine of a 10 MW or 15 MW capacity in 2026 or 2027.