French engineering and technology company Technip Energies has acquired a 16.3% stake in X1 Wind, a renewable energy start-up behind the design of a floating platform for wind turbines, for an undisclosed sum.
Under the strategic investment, Technip Energies will hold two of the nine seats on X1 Wind’s board of directors, and participate in the start-up’s joint technical and commercialisation committees.
Technip Energies is the lead investor in this funding round, with participation also from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund and some of X1 Wind’s previous shareholders.
The X1 Wind floating offshore wind concept is based on a tension leg platform (TLP) mooring, with a weathervaning system and a downwind turbine.
The design allows for a lighter floating platform design, resulting in less steel and a smaller mooring system, which X1 Wind claims will minimise the impact on the seabed.
The design is scalable for turbines of 15MW and above, an important requirement for large-scale offshore wind farms.
Technip Energies and X1 Wind have agreed to collaborate on the development of the first commercial-scale demonstrator, and the technology’s industrialisation and commercialisation plans.
Technip Energies is understood to be developing its own full-scale flagship platform for offshore deployment by 2025, using a traditional three-column steel semi-submersible design devised around modules, enabling fabrication at non-specialist yards.
Through the investment in X1 Wind, Technip Energies aims to include the pioneering technology in its floating offshore wind offering.
“Thanks to our offshore project execution and experience in developing technical concepts all the way to commercialisation, we are confident that X1 Wind will be a great addition to Technip Energies’ portfolio of technology solutions in the near future,’’ said Willy Gauttier, Technip Energies vice president for floating offshore wind.
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