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Universal Foundation partner on foundation concept

By: Matthew White 02/07/2018 Universal Foundation

Foundations General

Universal Foundation (UF) has partnered with Siemens Gamesa (SG) to perform test installation on an industrialised suction bucket concept.

The overall target is to decrease the cost of foundation construction and installation by 40% to support continued decreases in the Levelized Cost of Energy for offshore wind.
A consortium including Siemens Gamesa, Universal Foundation, Aalborg University, Fred. Olsen Windcarrier and Offshoreenergy.dk has been awarded 3.8m EUR by the Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Programme (EUDP) to demonstrate how an industrialised suction bucket concept can slash the installation costs of offshore wind foundations.

The partnership between UF and SG builds on an ongoing project (Part 1) under which a next generation suction bucket concept has been designed and an 8x8m prototype has been fabricated. During Part 2, the prototype will be used for the offshore trial installation campaign.

The new concept merges the noise free installation advantages of suction buckets with industrialised fabrication methods using coil steel (instead of classical plate steel). The fabrication method was originally developed between Siemens Gamesa and the Danish steel specialist Ib Andresen Industries for application in onshore towers.

“By applying this innovative fabrication method to suction bucket technology in offshore wind, the steel plate thickness can be reduced to below 20mm, compared to today’s typical thickness of 30-40mm for this type of foundation. This means use of lower costs steel with higher supply availability.

"The assembly process is much more suitable for high volume manufacturing, and hence supply bottlenecks can be eliminated and costs reduced. A key element is to ensure the structural integrity of the foundation both during installation and operation. During Part 2 of the project, we are excited to prove the installation integrity of the system”, Finn Daugaard Madsen, Project Manager, Siemens Gamesa.

“The project is interesting in many ways. We all share the view that suction technology provides some obvious installation advantages, both in terms of environmental impact and costs. Cost of fabrication and supply security continue as one of the challenges to overcome for suction buckets. The competitive environment of offshore wind drives us to think innovation, and this project enables us to cut the total system cost by 40%”, Søren Andreas Nielsen, Head of R&D, Universal Foundation.

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Universal Foundation partner on foundation concept

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