BW Ideol has executed an agreement with Japanese utility Jera and French state-owned investment company ADEME Investissement to finance the co-development of floating offshore wind farms.
The aim is to fund innovative infrastructure projects through the Investment for the Future Program to create an investment company for financing projects using BW Ideol’s Damping Pool technology over the next five years.
BW Ideol will hold 51% of the new entity, with Jera and ADEME Investissement holding 24.5% each.
The final agreement is in line with the key terms signed by the three parties in 2020, BW Ideol said.
BW Ideol chief executive Paul de la Gueriviere said: “We are honoured to have signed the investment agreement with Jera and ADEME Investissement.
“This agreement materialises our solid relationship with Jera, Japan’s largest utility company and an established player in offshore wind developments especially in Japan and Asia.
“We are also pleased to further consolidate our relationship with the Investment for the Future Program – sponsor of ADEME Investissement – which has been a partner of BW Ideol in the financing of its Floatgen demonstrator.
“This three-party collaboration reflects our joint ambition to fully capitalise on the opportunities created by the rapidly growing offshore floating wind market by leveraging BW Ideol’s growth strategy track as co-developer of floating wind projects based on our unique floating foundation technology.”
Jera managing executive officer Satoshi Yajima said: “Floating offshore wind has a large energy potential and is expected to play a significant role in expanding the introduction of renewable energy in the future.
“We believe this agreement between the three companies will accelerate the development of floating offshore wind and open up the possibility of using offshore energy in Japan and other areas with limited potential for fixed-bottom offshore wind.”
ADEME chief executive Arnaud Leroy said: “We do believe that floating offshore wind is on its way to confirm its potential and become a substantial contributor to achieving future climate goals.
“This partnership aims at financing first commercial scale projects and at supporting BW Ideol’s technology as both will contribute to accelerate the competitiveness of floating offshore wind.”