Subsea 7 announces floating wind acquisition
Subsea 7 today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority interest in the equity of Nautilus Floating Solutions S.L. a developer of technology for the floating wind market based in Bilbao, Spain.
Nautilus has developed a promising concept for a floating wind foundation based on a semi-submersible steel structure that supports a centrally-placed wind turbine. Subsea 7 will provide technical expertise, and engineering and project management capabilities, to support the advancement of this design and it is envisaged that the concept will be included in tenders for demonstrator or pilot projects in 2021 and beyond.
Subsea 7 will acquire a controlling interest of 59.12% in Nautilus and will assume four of the seven positions on Nautilus’ Board of Directors. Tecnalia1, the leading Research and Technological Development Centre in Europe and Vicinay2, a world class design, manufacturer, and supplier of mooring systems for the Oil & Gas and Floating Wind industries, will remain shareholders of Nautilus with equity interests of 29.14% and 11.74% respectively.
Nautilus will remain an autonomous company with strong roots in the Basque Country of Spain, teaming with its network of regional, national and international partners. It will benefit from the support of Subsea 7 in various upcoming bids with key clients in the floating wind industry. While actively supporting the further development of the Nautilus concept, Subsea 7 will also continue to engage with other technology providers to support client, regional or supply chain specificities.
Subsea 7 and Nautilus will collaborate closely with Seaway 7 ASA (the recently announced combination of Subsea 7’s fixed wind activities and OHT ASA3) to ensure aligned client engagement and that the capabilities within the broader group are fully leveraged.
John Evans, Chief Executive Officer, Subsea 7 commented: “The agreement with Nautilus represents an exciting opportunity for Subsea 7 to further our involvement in the technology being developed for the floating wind market. Involvement at an early stage allows the development of this concept to benefit from our technical know-how, experience in delivering EPCI projects, and to maximise the value creation opportunity for our clients and shareholders. Following the agreements with OHT ASA in offshore fixed wind, and with Simply Blue Energy in floating wind, this is another step in the realisation of the Group’s strategy to proactively participate in the Energy Transition.”