SeaTwirl, by SeaTwirl AB
The first robust and cost-effective floating vertical axis wind turbine for deepwater offshore
The offshore wind industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world, which is estimated to increase at an annual rate of 7.7%, since it produces stronger, more stable and more frequent energy than that produced on land.
But the existing solutions in this industry are bottom-fixed and floating wind turbines, both based on Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines technology and marked by certain limitations. Bottom-fixed turbines can only be installed in waters of up to 50m deep, while floating ones struggle to produce energy at a competitive cost, mainly due to very high CAPEX/OPEX.
Our client, the Swedish company SeaTwirl, opens up this vast market potential with a disruptive offshore turbine that combines vertical axis wind turbine technology with an effective and smaller spar-buoy. SeaTwirl has key advantages over competition:
-Economic: it is cheaper, requires less service and maintenance.
-Technical: uses few moving parts, works regardless of wind direction, can be placed closer together, provides power continuously and uses the water’s buoyancy to carry the weight.
-Environmental: Produces clean energy and low noise levels, it is safe for birds and helps protect marine environment.
SeaTwirl, in addition, is highly scalable. In this way, SeaTwirl will cover the offshore users without connection to a power grid, such as isolated public municipalities (Islands / Coastal areas) and offshore industry companies (fish farms / oil and gas rigs).
With the intention of carrying out its project, SeaTwirl AB submitted their proposal to the April 2019 call of the SME Instrument Phase 2, and after having successfully passed the interview phase in Brussels, they have obtained the grant they needed.
We at Aristos are very pleased with our participation, together with the company Avanoa AB, in the success of SeaTwirl and we wish them luck in the development of this fantastic project.