Marine-i Supports Reflex Marine's Development of Floating Wind Turbine Mooring Solution

OE Staff
Tuesday, November 30, 2021
Illustration - Credit; Equinor via Marine-i

Marine-i said Tuesday it was providing support to the offshore specialist Reflex Marine, which is developing a new system for anchoring floating offshore wind (FLOW) installations called the JAVELIN.

Part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, Marine-i is designed to help the marine technology sector in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly grow through harnessing the full potential of research and innovation.  

Philip Strong, CEO of Reflex Marine, explains: “Mooring FLOW turbines cost-effectively and reliably presents a considerable challenge and one of significant commercial importance to the sector. The design of the anchor is key to developing cost-effective moorings.

"JAVELIN is an innovative concept which changes the paradigm for high-performance moorings for floating offshore wind applications.  It is differentiated from existing mooring solutions in that the anchor is installed in a borehole deep below the seabed, in higher strength geological formations. It is then locked into the borehole using a novel technical solution. 

"The JAVELIN concept makes use of established offshore drilling techniques to economically drill boreholes for the anchors. Special deployment methodologies are also under development to reduce installation costs.”

The company says that JAVELIN is well suited for high angle loadings required for taut-line mooring systems. 

"This will be key to allowing denser spacing of wind turbine generators, which is critical to field economics. This means JAVELIN will offer a reliable, low-cost anchor solution suitable for a wide range of water depths, seabed geologies and mooring system designs," the company said.

Reflex Marine engaged with the Marine-i project to gain RD&I support in developing JAVELIN.  A structured research program was developed which covered key areas such as soil analysis, mooring design, load modeling, component testing, and anchor performance testing, the company said.

Prof Lars Johanning, Programme Director for Marine-i, says: “The JAVELIN system would attract interest from FLOW developers around the world and have a significant impact on the market. Most rival technologies were developed 30 years ago for the oil and gas sector, which was far less sensitive to the system costs, since moorings were deployed at a scale far smaller than will be required for FLOW. Reflex Marine have come up with a new solution that is geared to the specific needs of today’s FLOW operators.”

Philip Strong adds: “It is great having access to the specialist RD&I expertise that is available to us through the Marine-i project. This will help us develop and commercialize the JAVELIN concept at a much faster rate than might otherwise be possible.”

Categories: Activity Vessels Subsea Industry News Offshore Wind Mooring

Related Stories

RightBridge Ventures Agrees Reverse Takeover of Swemar

RightBridge Ventures Agrees Reverse Takeover of Swemar

TGS Lands Offshore Wind Site Characterization Work in Norway

TGS Lands Offshore Wind Site Characterization Work in Norway

ECO Liberty SOV Hits Water to Support Equinor’s Empire Wind Project

ECO Liberty SOV Hits Water to Support Equinor’s Empire Wind Project

Current News

Iberdrola Picks Up $4.9B to Finance 1.4GW UK Offshore Wind Farm

Perenco Brings Woodside’s Trinidad Oil and Gas Assets Into Its Fold

Vallourec Brings CNOOC, Petrochina as New Clients in Iraq

Germany’s SEFE Inks Three-Year LNG Supply Deal with ADNOC

Subscribe for OE Digital E‑News

Offshore Engineer Magazine