Norway project to trial “flat-pack” floating offshore wind turbines

San Francisco based floating wind innovator Aikido will get a chance to showcase its “flat-pack” style offshore floating wind technology in Norway as part of a 15MW demonstration project set to be installed in 2027.

Founded in 2022, Aikido is hoping to revolutionise the offshore wind sector with its flat-pack, serial produced offshore wind platforms that it says can be assembled in 40 working hours.

Aikido says its AO60 Platform can be transported in a cradle which locates each component in position to accelerate final assembly, while making for easy transport, and minimising the need for large dockside assembly space.

It says it includes unique, fold-up design that occupies two-thirds less space in a shipyard or quayside port facility. This so-called flat-pack design also means that Aikido’s technology is capable of leveraging existing maritime infrastructure, ports, and vessels already in use.

Pin joints are also responsible for allowing the platform to be folded during assembly, therefore taking up just one-third of the space of traditional designs and allowing it to be unfolded and up-ended out at sea using a simple water ballasting procedure.

The AO60 platform can be transported vertically or horizontally, and be assembled dockside or in drydock, and be dry- or wet-towed out to sea.

A quarter-scale prototype was installed in late 2024 in Pascagoula, Mississippi, in partnership with Chet Morrison Contractors who completed the fabrication of the Aikido One platform and performed the final structural assembly of the platform in less than 40 working hours.

Aikido announced last week that it was one of two companies to secure slots at the Marin Energy Test Centre (METCentre) in Norway and will install a first-of-its-kind 15MW demonstration project in 2027 which, upon completion, will be one of the largest floating wind platforms constructed and deployed to date.

“This project will show how Aikido can leverage existing infrastructure and vessels to reduce risks and accelerate the deployment of floating wind first in Norway and then around the world,” said Sam Kanner, CEO of Aikido.