Technip Energies, Université Gustave Eiffel, Valeco and OPEN-C Foundation selected for French floating wind project PAREF
Technip Energies in partnership with Université Gustave Eiffel, Valeco, and OPEN-C Foundation, will be leading the PAREF project, an R&D program aimed at accelerating industrial-scale development of floating wind, according to the company's release.
This project is funded by the French State as part of France 2030 operated by ADEME. It aims to design, fabricate, and test a reusable anchoring system, high and low connectors, and tendons for a tension line system, all while minimizing the impact on the marine environment in real offshore conditions.
The PAREF project will provide the anchoring system for the NextFloat project. In 2022, Technip Energies, X1 Wind, and a consortium of 10 international entities were chosen by the European Commission to deliver the NextFloat project. The integrated system includes X1 Wind's innovative and disruptive floating wind technology, featuring a lighter floater design with a reduced steel requirement, plus a compact mooring system minimizing seabed impact. The 6MW prototype will be deployed at a test site in the Mediterranean Sea to operate the concept in open-sea operational conditions.
The PAREF project is a significant step towards achieving a competitive and sustainable integrated floating offshore wind solution optimized for deep waters, significantly reducing cost and accelerating industrial-scale deployment. The NextFloat platform will provide the means to test the PAREF foundation system in situ for a minimum of two years.
Technip Energies is a leading Engineering & Technology company for the energy transition, with leadership positions in LNG, hydrogen and ethylene as well as growing market positions in blue and green hydrogen, sustainable chemistry and CO2 management. The company benefits from its robust project delivery model supported by an extensive technology, products and services offering.
Since January 1, 2020, the Gustave Eiffel University has been the only multi-disciplinary establishment in France to combine the missions and skills of a university, a research organization, a school of architecture (Éav&t) and three engineering schools (EIVP, ENSG and ESIEE Paris), with the shared aim of being at the heart of the issues facing tomorrow's cities and territories. Today, Gustave Eiffel University accounts for a quarter of national research in this field.
The Geotechnical Centrifuge group is located on the Nantes Campus of Gustave Eiffel University, and operates France's only geotechnical centrifuge and one of the top five largest in Europe.
Valeco, a wholly owned subsidiary of EnBW, specialises in the development, construction, operation, maintenance and decommissioning of renewable energy projects.
The OPEN-C Foundation is the French offshore test center for floating wind and marine renewable energy (MRE). It coordinates, develops and operates 5 offshore tests on the Atlantic and Mediterranean metropolitan coasts. A non-profit organization of general interest, the OPEN-C Foundation was created in March 2023 and has 30 employees to date.
