French company Ideol is teaming up with Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group to develop a new synthetic mooring solution for the floating offshore wind market.
The partnership will combine Ideol’s experience of permanent synthetic mooring solutions on floating offshore wind turbines and Bridon-Bekaert’s expertise in developing innovative mooring products.
It will also take advantage of the latter’s historic presence and production capabilities in Scotland in light of the ScotWind lease tenders and future floating offshore wind farms off the coast of Scotland.
Ideol chief executive Paul de la Gueriviere said: “Mooring solutions and offshore installation have a significant impact on a project’s CAPEX and OPEX and it is imperative for Ideol to leverage its pioneering efforts with synthetic mooring and further reduce the LCOE of floating wind.
“Collaborating with Bridon-Bekaert is another great example of Ideol teaming up with internationally recognised industry leaders capable of providing local employment and offering local value creation.
“In light of our commitment to offer the highest level of local content in Scotland, we are particularly happy with this partnership.”
Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group chief technology officer John Churchfield said: “Bridon-Bekaert has a long tradition of manufacturing both synthetic and steel mooring lines for the offshore oil and gas industry.
“Since our day one interaction with Ideol, we realised that applying existing oil & gas cable technology leads to unnecessary high system cost.
“Today, we are proud to be at a point where we can convert all our cumulated application insights into the development of a custom rope concept fit for the specific operating environment of floating wind.”