Largest publicly funded research project on development.
Bremerhaven, December 2010. With a kick-off meeting in Bremerhaven 19 partners from 8 European countries under the direction of the Fraunhofer IWES entered the conception phase for the largest publicly funded research project on development of enabling technology elements for deep-water offshore wind. Contributing 11 million euro to the 20 million euro budget 5-year project, the European Commission underlines the tremendous economic potential of offshore wind energy.
Since pioneering activities in this field were so far privately financed, the existing knowledge is fragmented. In the HiPRwind project, cutting edge research centers and top-notch European industrial players collaborate openly.
“For the first time, the HiPRWind project provides comprehensive measurement data on wind turbines with floating structures. Therefore, project partners from companies and research institutes will jointly identify opportunities for cost cuttings to enhance offshore wind energy at deep water sites”, underlines Prof. Dr. Andreas Reuter, Director of project coordinator Fraunhofer IWES.
This joint cross-sectoral approach aims to stimulate market development in floating wind technology. Improving the cost efficiency of offshore wind energy will facilitate exploitation of untapped deep-water wind resources. An ambitious dissemination approach will promote broad awareness and up-take of project results in successive R&D projects.
The implementation of this large collaborative project with potential high reward for the renewable energy industry also has a regional development dimension. It is likely to support economic development and sustainable job creation in the maritime, coastal and peripheral regions of Europe.
The offshore wind energy industry is more labor intensive than offshore oil & gas – an additional benefit for regions that currently depend on traditional uses of marine resources.
At the same time, it stimulates associated industries.
List of project partners
FRAUNHOFER-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FOERDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG E.V / Germany
INGENIERIA Y DISEÑO EUROPEO S.A. / Spain
NORGES TEKNISK-NATURVITENSKAPELIGE UNIVERSITET / Norway
ACCIONA ENERGIA S.A. / Spain
SINTEF ENERGI AS / Norway
TECHNIP FRANCE SAS / France
NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY CENTRE LIMITED / United Kingdom
ABB SCHWEIZ AG / Switzerland
TECNALIA / Spain
WOLFEL BERATENDE INGENIEURE GMBH &CO KG / Germany
Mammoet Europe BV / Netherlands
DR TECHN OLAV OLSEN AS / Norway
BUREAU VERITAS-REGISTRE INTERNATIONAL DE CLASSIFICATION DE NAVIRES ET D’AERONEFS / France
MICROMEGA DYNAMICS SA / Belgium
UNIVERSITAET SIEGEN / Germany
TWI LIMITED / United Kingdom
1-TECH / Belgium
ACCIONA WINDPOWER / Spain
VICINAY CADENAS SOCIEDAD ANONIMA VICINAY / Spain
For further information, the website www.hiprwind.eu will soon be available.