Mitsui and Hokutaku JV Horizon Ocean Management (HOM) and Rovco have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for through-life subsea asset integrity and balance of plant survey solutions for the Japanese offshore wind market.
The agreement will see both parties work together to analyse the Japanese offshore wind market and develop a better understanding of in-country demand, as well as developing asset integrity programmes of work to support the maintenance of critical infrastructure.
HOM was formed in 2021 by Japanese conglomerate Mitsui and Hokutaku, the country’s leading wind turbine maintenance company.
Rovco and HOM will enter into a joint business development agreement, with a view to strengthening commercial ties and jointly promoting new projects.
They aim to build a world-class service model for subsea integrity and survey scopes across offshore wind developments in Japan.
The companies have launched a joint proposal to clients for a number of future operations and maintenance projects.
The Japanese government last year unveiled ambitious plans for offshore wind expansion, including targets of 10GW of offshore wind by 2030 and installations of a combined 30GW to 45GW by 2040, along with a cost reduction target by industry of 8 to 9 yen/kWh between 2030 and 2035.
Rovco chief revenue officer Simon Miller said: “This partnership marks a significant milestone for Rovco.
“The Japanese offshore wind sector is rapidly upscaling, and this is an exciting opportunity for us to work alongside Horizon Ocean Management, sharing vital insight into subsea asset integrity best practices, whilst introducing both established and emerging technologies that help capture, interpret and present key infrastructure performance against design criteria and ensuring operational uptime with overall economic benefit to our customers.”
Managing director of HOM Nobuyuki Takagi added: “The European offshore wind supply chain has a wealth of marine and subsea experience via its long history in sectors such as oil & gas, in order to realise our national offshore wind deployment vision, HOM believe that learning from and working with the leading companies in these more advanced markets will develop and improve Japanese competence earlier, ultimately helping to establish middle to long-term local capability.
“We identified Rovco as one of the most innovative subsea inspection companies and are delighted to be collaborating with them here in Japan.”