Tank tests of a new floating wind concept being developed by Spanish technology outfit Nautilus have been completed at Sintef Ocean’s R&D centre in Norway as part of the EU Lifes50+ project, clearing the way for a follow-on programme of trials that could catapult the design toward commercialisation early next decade.

The part-scale model of a 10MW unit based on Nautilus technology – a four-column semisubmersible steel floater that uses active water ballast and passive concrete ballast for added stability – will now move to put through its paces at the Politecnico di Milano, with plans targeting installation of a first full-scale prototype off the Canary Islands in summer 2021.