Advancing the technological leap in the area of floating offshore wind turbines needed for a transition to innovative clusters of green energy.
Floating offshore wind turbines are essential for achieving climate neutrality and strengthening Europe’s leadership in renewable energy worldwide. Although floating wind technology has demonstrated its technical feasibility through prototypes commissioned in recent years, its industrialisation and competitiveness remain to be proven.
A major limitation of current floating wind projects lies in the lack of integrated optimisation between turbines and floaters, resulting in higher capital expenditure (CAPEX) and hindering commercial viability. Furthermore, the absence of a European industrialisation framework for the large-scale production and deployment of floating offshore wind turbines also poses a challenge. Standardisation of manufacturing processes and logistics optimisation are essential to avoid bottlenecks by 2030.
In this context, ATLANTIC aims to drive a major breakthrough in the sector by proposing a comprehensive design solution, integrating both technological aspects and European supply chains. The project will demonstrate a disruptive 5 MW floating unit with a pyramidal design, connected to the electrical grid at Le Croisic, France.
It will pave the way for a levelised cost of energy (LCOE) of €85/MWh by 2030 (and €57/MWh beyond 2035), with a carbon footprint below 16 gCO2eq/kWh. Over a two-year period, thorough monitoring of pilot data will optimise future industrial-scale deployments, taking into account performance, environmental issues and port logistics.
The project will also lay the foundations for establishing a European supply chain enabling the large-scale production of floating offshore wind farms and strengthening the sovereignty of the European Union.
To achieve this ambitious goal, the industry-led ATLANTIC consortium brings together 13 entities from 6 different countries, including 4 industrial companies and SMEs, 1 public interest foundation, 6 research centres, 1 university and 1 regional organisation.
As part of this project, the French Corrosion Institute participates in the design of the cathodic protection system for the floating offshore wind turbine, monitors corrosion data on site, and provides its expertise in materials and coatings selection to ensure durability under offshore conditions.
Partners of the ATLANTIC project
| VALOREM (France): VALOREM is an independent green energy operator, a vertically integrated group involved in every stage of a renewable energy project. | EOLINK (France): EOLINK is an industrial SME based in Brest, developing a globally unique technology specifically designed for floating wind energy. |
| VALEMO (France): VALEMO is a recognised independent service provider working on numerous projects, from the demonstration phase to the commercial operation of renewable energy farms. | Fondation OPEN-C (France): The OPEN-C Foundation’s missions include operating France’s 5 offshore test sites in the fields of floating wind and Marine Renewable Energies, monitoring the environmental impact of projects and contributing to the development of the sector. |
| Ifremer (France): The French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea for sustainable development of maritime activities. | Agence Bretagne Next (France): Agence Bretagne Next is the economic development agency of the Brittany Region. It has a mission to anticipate, structure and promote future economic sectors, inlcuding marine energies. |
| Dutch Marine Energy Centre (DMEC) (Netherlands): DMEC is an accelerator and knowledge centre dedicated to offshore renewable energy solutions | RISE Research Institutes of Sweden (Sweden): RISE Research Institutes of Sweden is Sweden’s research institute and innovation partner. |
| Institut de la Corrosion (France): The French Corrosion Institute is a corrosion research and expertise laboratory in corrosion and anticorrosion solutions for materials and structures | Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (Germany): Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is one of the world’s leading applied research organisations which conducts application-oriented research for a sustainable future. |
| SINTEF Ocean (Norway): SINTEF Ocean is an independent research institute within the SINTEF Group that develops technologies, models and digital tools for sustainable maritime industries. | National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) (Greece): The School of Civil Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens, sometimes referred to as Athens Polytechnic, is internationally recognised. |
| Syntropie (France): Syntropie specialises in the management of complex EU-funded research and innovation projects. |
Learn more
CORDIS : https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101235705
This project is co-funded by the European Union in the frame of the research and innovation program Horizon Europe. To learn more on the actions of CINEA : European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency
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Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or REA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.