Ideol and Atlantique Offshore Energy launch the commercialization of the world’s first floating electrical offshore substation

(WK-intern) – Ideol, the internationally recognized leader in floating offshore wind, and Atlantique Offshore Energy, Chantiers de l’Atlantique Business Unit specialized in Offshore projects providing leading EPCIM solutions of substations to the bottom-fixed offshore wind industry, held a whole-day technical seminar in Paris today and unveiled the details of their universal and market-ready solution to the senior executives and technical experts of Europe’s largest transmission systems operators (TSO), utilities and offshore wind developers.

In cooperation with ABB and after nearly 2 years of extensive and thorough collaborative efforts, Ideol and AOE have unveiled their universal floating offshore substation for both bottom-fixed and floating offshore wind farms starting at depths of 40 meters.

Based on Ideol’s patented and shallow-draft Damping Pool® concept and on AOE’s certified electrical offshore substation concept SeeOs, this universal floating offshore substation has been engineered to operate in the world most extreme environments and to offer maximum modularity. With the installation of the topside onto the floater at quayside, with the testing and pre-commissioning at quayside as well as an installation without heavy-lift offshore operations, this floating electrical offshore substation generates significant cost reductions. Finally and thanks to a time-tested and readily available supply chain, the solution can easily be serial produced while creating local jobs.

This universal and modular floating substation is expected to have a significant impact on the market of offshore substations and is market-ready for upcoming floating commercial tenders, in France and across the world. The market potential is huge, as 115 GW of new offshore capacity is expected to be installed around the globe by 2030.

Bruno Geschier, Ideol’s Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, has declared: “We were happy to welcome the most influential players of the offshore wind industry in Paris today; their enthusiasm for our solution confirms the huge potential of this new product. Ideol, with its patented floating technology and unique in-house expertise, is excited and proud to once again collaborate with leading firms such as AOE and ABB and to contribute to the acceleration of commercial-scale floating offshore wind.”

Lionel Jossé, AOE’s Head of Sales & Marketing, has declared: “This project reflects our capacity to capitalize on the lessons learned we have from the Electrical Offshore Substations we successfully delivered, so as to innovate and to implement ready-to-market solutions. The purpose of this workshop was to demonstrate to the different stakeholders of our industry the level of maturity and the relevance of this solution to strengthen the development of the floating offshore wind at a commercial scale”.

Ideol, based in La Ciotat (France), was created in 2010 with the aim of developing both technically and economically viable floating foundation solutions for the offshore wind industry. Recipient of numerous innovation and entrepreneurship awards, the company benefits from the support of a large and prestigious panel of public and private investors. Its industry-changing and patented “Damping Pool”® design is compatible with all existing offshore wind turbines. Maximizing local content and optimizing the entire process from construction to installation, maintenance and decommissioning have been the company’s key priorities since day one. Its particularly cost-competitive solution allows for the development of projects without any water depth or soil constraints on sites benefiting from the best available wind resources. Benefiting from the experience and know-how of a fully integrated team of 60 experts and engineers coming from the offshore oil & gas and renewables industries, the company has commissioned its first full-scale demonstrator (the FLOATGEN project, which is also France’s first offshore wind turbine) and its second full-scale demonstrator is in operation off Japan. Ideol is involved in the French Mediterranean’s first floating offshore wind farm (the EOLMED project) as well as several other floating projects across the world, positioning the company as a leader in this fast-growing and accelerating market.

With 150 years of expertise, Chantiers de l’Atlantique is one of the market leaders worldwide for the construction of highly complex ships and offshore installations, thanks to state-of-the-art industrial facilities and renowned expertise in designing, integrating, testing, and delivering turnkey maritime solutions. Located in Saint-Nazaire (France), Chantiers de l’Atlantique has achieved a turnover of more than 1.6 billion euros in 2018, with more than 3,000 employees.
Atlantique Offshore Energy is Chantiers de l’Atlantique Business Unit specialized in Offshore constructions. Dedicated to Marine Renewable Energy and Oil & Gas markets, it is an expert in tailor-made solutions for specific Engineering or Manufacturing projects, and for turnkey EPCIM contracts (Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation and Maintenance). Atlantique Offshore Energy benefits from major competitive assets to meet its customer expectations such as expert teams in all fields (from the design to the maintenance of marine facilities), Project Management skills and process (ensuring safety, quality and on-time delivery), decades of know-how as technology integrator and a large industrial and logistical capacities with direct access to the open sea. 1 GW of renewable energy is now connected to the European grid though the Electrical Offshore Substations Atlantique Offshore Energy designed, manufactured and installed. Thanks to this strong experience the Business Unit developed and certified SeeOs, its modular Electrical Substation concept for Offshore Windfarms which can accommodate any project requirement

PR: Ideol / Atlantique

Video: AOE&Ideol Floating Substation 4 june 2019 / Chantiers de l’Atlantique