INF4INiTY · Integrated Designs for Future Floating Offshore Wind Farm Technology

The importance of an increased exploitation of renewable energy sources is highlighted by the recent geo-political events with their impact on energy security and pricing, together with the global efforts to mitigate the anthropogenic climate change. Floating offshore wind, with its tremendous potential, will play an important role in the future to achieve the European Commission’s ambitious goals towards a climate-neutral energy transition. However, the required expansion of floating offshore wind capacity to achieve, e.g., the EU’s SET Plan targets, challenges the goal to protect and preserve bio-diversity (habitats and species) in the EU sea basins as set forth, e.g., by the Mission Healthy oceans. The INF4INiTY project (INtegrated designs for Future Floating oFFshore wINd farm TechnologY) aims to support the solution of this challenge. By developing critical technologies for the offshore wind farm of the future which enable balancing human needs (clean energy) with nature’s and society’s demands (decreased negative environmental and social impact). In particular, INF4INiTY provides two major technology innovations: an innovative nature inclusive design for gravity anchors and their associated scour protection system and (2) an innovative primary artificial reef structure combined with the floating structure of a floating offshore wind turbine. To that end, INF4INiTY combines world class numerical modelling and experimental analysis expertise with leading industrial technology development. Being immersed in a holistic techno-environomic, multi-level, multi-objective optimisation framework, INF4INiTY’s technology development results in truly innovative, economically viable, and sustainable solutions for the current techno-socio-enviro-economic challenges of the floating offshore wind industry.