NextFloat+ project secures €13m to innovate and accelerate floating wind

The XI Wind-led NextFloat+ project has received €13.4 million (US$14.4 million) in innovation funding to roll out its 6MW next-gen floating wind platform.

The prototype platform, named X90, is aimed as a structurally efficient lightweight integrated floating system comprised of a downwind turbine on a tripod-like structure with a tension leg platform single point mooring, greatly reducing both the weight and the seabed footprint impact.

The grant from the European Commission’s Innovation Fund for innovative low-carbon technologies is intended to support the deployment of the platform at a test site in the Mediterranean Sea.

With this it should also advance the industrialisation and scale-up of the floating wind solution to 20MW+ scale.

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X1 Wind CEO and co-founder Alex Raventos said the announcement comes after the X90 platform was granted statements of feasibility and compliance from DNV.

“We’re thrilled to receive support from the Innovation Fund. The grant represents a cornerstone in the fundraising for the NextFloat+ Project,” said Raventos.

“Crucially, it will provide an opportunity to drive substantial improvements in the competitiveness of floating wind as we prepare for long-term mass deployment in locations around the world.”

Previous support for the initiative has come through the EC’s Horizon Europe programme and finance secured through the French government as part of the France 2030 plan, as well as private funding from partners and shareholders.

The NextFloat+ project is led by a consortium formed by the Barcelona, Spain based X1 Wind as project coordinator alongside French engineering company Technip Energies and NextFloat Plus SAS.

The NextFloat+ project builds on the findings of the PivotBuoy Project, which has demonstrated X1 Wind’s technology with the deployment of a part-scale prototype in the Canary Islands.

In particular, NextFloat+ should introduce additional innovations to reduce the LCOE of floating wind and its environmental impact, including a patented quick connector system and the installation of a bio-boosting system applied on the floater.