The Non-Grouted Connector is designed for wind developers who want to cut the time and cost of foundation installation by removing the need for grout and reducing the number of people and vessels required offshore.
Grout is a time-consuming and expensive part of the installation process. In 2018 ScottishPower Renewables launched an innovation competition seeking alternatives and our innovation won that challenge. Today we are continuing to develop our grout-free alternative. We’re working in collaborating with industry partners and Innovate UK and the Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP) are supporting us with grant funding.
In 2019 Everoze carried out a preliminary assessment of our technology. They concluded it was capable of delivering savings of £300,000 per foundation. This equates to a 2% CAPEX saving on an average 700MW wind farm.
The reasons for the cost savings include:
- Reduced jacket leg length (meaning it requires less steel)
- No need for 20-50m cubed of high strength grout per foundation
- Avoids the need for a grout spread (the vessels and paraphernalia to store, mix and inject the grout)
Additional benefits include:
- Increased speed of installation/less weather downtime
- Simplified in-field vessel logistics (meaning less people and vessels are required offshore and making the process safer and with a reduced carbon foot print)
- Fully reversible for decommissioning
- Grout free = better for the environment.
Right now we’re focusing on developing our non-grouted connector for wind turbines with jacket foundations. However our technology does has applications beyond jackets even beyond the wind industry to include O&G and DASA.
You can contact Iain for engineering specifics or Jacqueline to discuss how we might work together. As we move through the technology readiness levels (TRLs) we are actively looking for demonstrator opportunities and other industry partners to join our consortium.
And lastly, we’re always looking for ways to develop our value proposition. As an expert in the field of offshore wind, we’d appreciate your getting in touch and helping us with some expert feedback and critique. Or why not sign up for our Showstopper workshop to be held online towards the end of June.
