Sif has postponed the final investment decision for the expansion of its offshore wind foundations manufacturing facility in Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
The Dutch fabricator has decided to push back the date, which was initially scheduled for this month, as its needs more time to discuss firm contracts with clients as well as other relevant parties.
This combined with the uncertainties caused by the global economic and geopolitical situation has meant that the FID has been pushed back indefinitely, with further announcements to be made when appropriate, Sif said.
It added that it is in “constructive and exclusive discussions with clients for a total of 400kton launching capacity” which are progressing with the aim to agree firm contracts this summer.
Sif announced last year that it planned to expand the manufacturing capabilities and production capacity for foundations, both in terms of size and quantity, with a substantial expansion of its facilities in Rotterdam.
It has been studying the feasibility of expanding the manufacturing capabilities and capacity for offshore wind foundations from approximately 220 to 500kton per annum.
Meanwhile, Sif said it is also in continuing talks with potential partners for local production outlets for foundations in Asia and the USA.
For monopile foundation projects in the Asian region, Sif Holding NV and GS Entec Corp from Ulsan, Republic of Korea, have now signed a Framework Agreement for a Strategic Partnership.
Under this arrangement, Sif will grant GS a 10-year mutual exclusive license for the Asian region to use technology developed and applied by Sif, for the purpose of manufacturing monopiles foundations and transition pieces.
The licensed technology relates to the conversion of existing manufacturing facilities of GS in Ulsan to a monopile foundation and transition pieces manufacturing plant with the option, in a later stage, to develop a new monopile foundation and transition pieces manufacturing plant elsewhere in Korea.
The license includes both a fixed one-off license fee and a variable fee per manufactured and delivered monopile foundation.