Etermar Energia has started construction of a small-scale prototype of the BayFloat floating offshore wind platform in Setúbal, Portugal.
The company said the prototype is being developed in collaboration with BayWa r.e. and is funded by Portugal’s Recovery and Resilience Plan, with completion expected in July 2026.
Etermar Energia added that BayWa r.e. has provided the reduced-scale design of its semi-submersible floating wind foundation concept for the project.
The prototype will be equipped with sensors to create a digital twin monitoring structural behaviour, environmental interaction and real-time positioning during fabrication and deployment.
The monitoring period will run for two years once the foundation is anchored.
“The collaboration with BayWa r.e. is an important step into the future. It harnesses the capabilities of both companies in an effort to develop new technology that is more cost-effective and sustainable for the floating offshore wind energy market,” said Luís Machado, executive director of Etermar Energia.
“By combining our expertise with BayWa r.e.’s innovative technology, we are confident in our ability to accelerate the deployment of this crucial renewable energy source.”
“We are delighted that Etermar selected BayWa r.e. to partner in this exciting Next Generation EU Project, offering us the unique opportunity to observe and monitor in real time the complete construction, load-out and interaction of a reduced scale prototype of our floating wind foundation concept during wet storage in Etermar’s facilities,” said Ricardo Rocha, offshore wind technical director of BayWa r.e.
“These learnings will be extremely valuable for demonstrating the design’s constructability and industrialisation, addressing the main challenges identified during the concept certification phase, and paving the way for large-scale deployment while contributing to consolidate Etermar’s position in the European offshore wind supply chain.”