Project

Developing the Next Generation of Environmentally-Friendly Floating Wind Farms with Innovative Technologies and Sustainable Solutions

Acronym
FLOATFARM
Code
41P03424
Duration
01 January 2024 → 31 December 2027
Funding
European funding: framework programme
Research disciplines
  • Engineering and technology
    • Manufacturing processes, methods and technologies
Keywords
floating offshore wind
Other information
 
Project description

FLOATFARM aims to significantly advance the maturity and competitiveness of floating offshore wind (FOW) technology by increasing energy production, achieving significant cost reductions within the design and implementation phases, improving offshore wind value chain and supporting EU companies in this growing sector. Ultimately, FLOATFARM aims to decrease negative environmental impacts on marine life and to enhance the public acceptability of FOW, thereby accelerating the EU energy transition.  To this end, a number of critical technologies have been identified as key catalysts. They apply to different conceptual scales, from individual floating offshore wind turbine level (Action 1) to farm level (Action 2) and environmental and socio-economic perspectives (Action 3). Innovations will be introduced into: 1) ROTOR TECHNOLOGY, where innovative rotor designs for improved energy capture will be explored in a co-design approach with innovative control techniques, improved floaters, and a groundbreaking generator concept; 2) MOORING AND ANCHORING, where shared mooring and innovative dynamic cabling will be investigated; 3) WIND FARM CONTROL, where novel control strategies will be exploited to increase the farm power density, and  4) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT MITIGATION, where marine noise emissions and impacts on marine species of FOW farms will be addressed, innovative artificial reefs will be pioneered and social acceptance will be studied.  To ensure that effective solutions are pursued and TRL5 can be achieved, FLOATFARM adopts a holistic approach that combines innovative designs, experimental demonstration at laboratory scale, modelling with a suite of beyond state-of-the-art numerical tools, and demonstration in a unique open-sea laboratory, where a new 1:7 scale 15MW FOWT will be tested in combination with novel floaters, moorings and controls, ensuring systematic assessment and validation that are thus far unprecedented in FOWT research.

 
 
 
Disclaimer
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Neither the European Union nor the authority can be held responsible for them.