SeaTwirl floating wind pact with Sumitomo targets Japan for vertical axis breakthrough

MoU could provide SeaTwirl with foothold for a technology touted as ideal for Japanese market

SeaTwirl has high hopes for its vertical axis floating wind turbine.
SeaTwirl has high hopes for its vertical axis floating wind turbine.Foto: SeaTwirl

SeaTwirl, a Sweden-based provider of offshore wind technology, is to partner a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo Corporation in developing Japanese markets for its pioneering vertical axis floating wind turbine (VAWT).

SeaTwirl described Sumitomo Corporation Power & Mobility (SPCM) as its preferred strategic business partner to market a technology that SeaTwirl says is well suited for the conditions in the Japanese offshore environment.

SCPM will mainly be in charge of identifying, marketing, negotiating, and contracting the potential clients, while SeaTwirl will mainly be in charge of promoting and offering products and services, according to a statement released by the Swedish company today (Monday).

“With SCPM we have a perfect partner to continue to develop our business in the Japanese market. With their deep local presence, solid history, diversified business operations and deep industrial knowledge we are confident we can offer the market something unique and attractive,” said Peter Laurits, SeaTwirl’s global head of business development.

SeaTwirl cited Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) data suggesting that Japan, with its extensive coast and many islands has has one of the world’s largest potentials for floating offshore wind, assessed at 424GW.

SeaTwirl describes its technology as offering a “robust and flexible design and high serviceability.”

SeaTwirl, in development since 2010, was the first VAWT to make it into the water at quasi-industrial-scale, although vertical rotor designs have long been seen to hold untapped promise.
The company bagged a first commercial deal for a smaller-capacity version of its turbine last year, after drawing interest from technology group Kontiki Winds as an option for decarbonising of offshore oil & gas operations.
One study, published by Oxford Brookes University in the UK in 2021 concluded that VAWTs - which fly angled, upright blades around a rotor shaft turning a direct-drive transmission – could ultimately “outcompete” the traditional models that dominate the market today.
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Published 2 April 2024, 08:35Updated 2 April 2024, 08:35
JapanSeaTwirlSumitomo