Subsea7 and Siemens Energy have joined forces to develop a Subsea High Voltage Plug and Power Hub for the floating offshore wind market.
Building on Subsea7’s competence in subsea engineering and offshore construction for the oil and gas and renewables markets, and Siemens Energy’s competence in electrical systems and subsea wet mate connectors, the two companies have entered into a joint development agreement for a Subsea High Voltage Plug and Power Hub dedicated to floating offshore wind.
The innovative technology will enable the connection of multiple wind turbines into one subsea hub, allowing for more flexibility in floating offshore wind farm architecture and construction, the partners said.
The flexibility offered could contribute to lower CAPEX and higher power availability by enabling efficient maintenance of floating offshore wind systems.
The companies said they believe that collaboration is essential to tackle the challenges of the energy transition and will work together to provide the industry with the next generation of enabling products to unlock the potential of floating offshore wind.
As outlined in a recent report from TGS, 14 GW of floating offshore wind power will be installed or under construction by 2030, and that is only a smaller chunk of the capacity that has been, or will soon be, awarded through auctions throughout Europe, the US, Asia Pacific, and parts of South America.
GustoMSC’s Commercial Director Floating Wind, Barend Jenje, said during Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference in Amsterdam, that floating offshore wind could be bigger than fixed-bottom by 2050, “but we got some catching up to do, and catching up to be done is really in the supply chain” .