Floating offshore wind specialist BW Ideol has partnered France’s fourth largest construction group, NGE, to build an industrial-scale floating foundation manufacturing facility in southern France.
The exclusive 50-50 Memorandum of Understanding brings NGE in as an equal shareholder in the Fos3F factory, a ‘first-of-a-kind’ site that will fabricate concrete substructures for floating wind farms.
It was handed €126 million in public funding in April this year and will focus on proiing foundations for floating wind farms all over the Mediterranean.
As previously reported by Maritime Journal, the project aims to industrialise the manufacture of concrete floating foundations rather than producing them on a project-by-project basis.
Under the new agreement, BW Ideol contributes its floating wind technology and project development expertise, while NGE brings experience in delivering major civil engineering and industrial infrastructure projects. The partnership is intended to accelerate development of the manufacturing facility and support the deployment of floating offshore wind across the Mediterranean.
The proposed facility is designed to produce around 30 concrete floating foundations a year, equivalent to approximately 500MW of offshore wind capacity each year.
The partners have jointly submitted a bid under the Grand Port Maritime de Marseille’s call for projects to secure a 30-hectare site with 400 metres of operational quay frontage, providing the waterfront infrastructure required for fabrication, assembly and tow-out operations.
Development of the site will require substantial port infrastructure, heavy civil engineering and marine logistics, while serial production of large concrete floating foundations would create ongoing demand for harbour services, towage and marine operations associated with assembly and deployment.
Serial production
BW Ideol has previously said its serial production concept has been designed to minimise specialist port requirements and be replicated at suitable industrial ports. The company is pursuing a similar manufacturing model at the Ardersier Energy Transition Facility in Scotland, where it is developing facilities to support the UK’s emerging floating offshore wind market. It reflects a wider strategy to establish a network of regional manufacturing hubs located close to future floating wind developments, reducing transport costs while creating local industrial supply chains.
The partnership also coincides with the launch of France’s AO10 offshore wind tender, which will take the country’s floating offshore wind pipeline beyond 5GW, including around 3.7GW in the Mediterranean.
BW Ideol president Paul de la Guérivière described the partnership as ‘a decisive step’ towards industrial-scale floating offshore wind in France.
“It is a sovereign response to the needs of the energy transition: foundations designed and manufactured in France, using locally sourced materials, with more than 1,300 direct jobs for the region,” he said.
“NGE brings to this project its expertise in delivering complex infrastructure and large-scale industrial works, in the service of a more sustainable and more sovereign energy supply,” said NGE deputy chief executive Bruno Parent.
