SeaTwirl announced last week that the company has started a collaboration with the University of Tokyo where a research group led by Associate Professor Shinichiro Hirabayashi at the Department of Ocean Technology, Policy and Environment is investigating how SeaTwirl’s technology can be adapted to Japanese conditions.
Japan’s energy mix today is dominated by fossil fuels and with densely populated islands, the country is turning to the sea and floating wind to help meet the renewable energy needs of the future. However, everything that is built must withstand the typhoons with wind speeds of 55 meters per second that often hit the country, usually between May and October.
“Japan is a very interesting and potentially large market for SeaTwirl. We are very proud to partner with such a well-respected institution as the University of Tokyo to adapt our technology to the special requirements of that market. Research is the first step towards commercialization,” says Peter Laurits, CEO at SeaTwirl.
“Floating offshore wind power generation may become a common renewable energy source in Japan in the near future. We expect that vertical-axis turbines can become a possible solution for wind turbines on floating structures,” says Shinichiro Hirabayashi, University of Tokyo.
SeaTwirl’s unique floating wind turbine is simple and robust with few moving parts. This suits the conditions at sea and minimizes the need for maintenance, leading to less downtime and more operating hours. These are important prerequisites for reducing costs in the production of energy. The company’s first prototype was installed in the sea in 2015. Development is now taking place on the next full-scale unit of 1 MW installed turbine power.
This might be a solution to get the important offshore wind turbines in place faster. SeaTwirl is an energy tech company in wind power with the vision of becoming a world-leading supplier to floating wind farms.