Aberdeen’s Axis Energy Projects has won two national awards for its innovative Tension Leg Buoy technology that is being developed for deployment in the floating offshore wind sector.
The Axis TLB is a substructure and mooring system that provides controlled stability, roll and pitch for wind turbines. It comprises a subsurface buoy that supports the wind turbine. The buoy is fixed, by tensioned tethers, to a modular gravity base anchor / foundation on the seabed.
The TLB additional benefits are its off-site pre-cast fabrication, a relatively small seabed footprint, no need for piling or jack-up vessels and a simple decommissioning process. It also offers the potential for wave power.
The two awards (wind and natural energy categories) were made at the Rushlight Show in London on January 30. Rushlight brought together cleantech developers with the investment community and businesses looking to source suppliers and partners.
John Baross , founder and managing director of Axis, said: “It’s fantastic news that our technology has been recognised by an independent panel of experts at the Rushlight Show. It’s a great boost for the Axis team as we take forward our technology for commercial deployment in UK and overseas waters. We have used our experience and technical knowledge of working in the offshore oil and gas sector for 20 years to design the TLB™ for use in the floating offshore wind sector.”
A 2018 study by Strathclyde University’s Department of Naval Architecture concluded that Axis’s Tension Leg Buoy technology, compared with other Floating Offshore wind concepts, “ demonstrates better stability performance, flexibility in installation and transportation, reduced requirement for water depth, lowered tether/tendon tension fluctuation with free flooded central column and possibility of integrating a wave energy device to form a multi-energy complimentary system.”