Following the signature of a technology partnership agreement in March, the French start-up IDEOL and the Japanese offshore wind leader Hitachi Zosen (HITZ) have signed an engineering agreement on June 3rd for the design of both a concrete and a steel version of IDEOL’s patented floating foundation adapted to Japanese sea conditions.
The companies are targeting installations by the end of 2017. A first series of tank tests has already started last week in Japan.
“This contract enables IDEOL to prove the economic viability of its business model and its capacity to export its technology on key international markets. It also confirms our floating technology’s reliability and cost effectiveness in highly-challenging marine environments,” says Paul de La Guérivière, IDEOL’s CEO.
The Japanese Ministry of Industry has announced in April a target of 24% of renewable energy production in the Japanese electricity mix by 2030, against around 10% in 2014.