NEWS & INSIGHTS | Opinion
Floating wind takes off: Ocergy’s 15 MW platform set for 2028
Luca Corradi
Luca works to bring “the outside in”, connecting innovators and academics across sectors and disciplines, to explore the latest technologies that could be adopted to address oil and gas industry challenges. Leading The Net Zero Technology Centre’s horizon scanning activity, he identifies emerging technology trends, cutting through the hype to identify potential areas of impact and application. With a background in business and organisational change leadership, Luca has developed a strong network and is passionate about harnessing this to deliver the next generation of the net zero energy industry.
Outside work Luca loves reading, music and travel. He is married with two young daughters and a dog. He enjoys the rare motorbike ride in Scotland and even rarer ski trip on the Alps.
This week’s net zero news: Industrial Strategy; Clean Energies Industry Sector Plan; WEF top 10 Technology Trends
Chief Technology Officer at NZTC, Luca Corradi, and his team closely monitor the global net zero landscape. They follow the trends, policies, investments, and technological innovations that, together, bring the world closer to its shared climate goals. Learn more about our horizon scanning service. This week, Luca and his team look at the UK’s latest industrial strategy, top emerging technology in 2025, and the launch of a 15+ megawatt floating turbine demo project.
UK Government and industry set 10-year plan to drive investment and build future-focused industries
The UK’s latest industrial strategy sets a goal to double annual investment in frontier clean energy industries to over £30 billion by 2035, positioning the UK as a global leader in clean energy and industrial growth.
Key measures include:
- Launching a new £1 billion Clean Energy Supply Chain Fund via Great British Energy, with £300 million earmarked for offshore wind, and an additional £700 million in new grant funding.
- Introducing a £544 million Clean Industry Bonus to incentivize offshore wind developers, especially in economically deprived regions, aiming to unlock further private investment and jobs.
- Committing £14.2 billion to Sizewell C nuclear power station and over £2.5 billion for Small Modular Reactors, supporting thousands of UK suppliers and apprenticeships, and strengthening the domestic nuclear supply chain.
- Investing £2.5 billion in fusion energy over five years, anchored by the STEP prototype fusion plant, to establish the UK as a leader in next-generation clean power and create a new industrial ecosystem.
- Allocating £9.4 billion to support carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) projects through 2029, making CCUS central to the UK’s industrial decarbonization and energy security strategy.
- Confirming £13.2 billion for the Warm Homes Plan and launching further heat pump investment grants.
Additional reforms include plans to reduce industrial electricity prices from 2027, new actions for onshore and floating offshore wind, and ongoing consultations on expanding clean energy incentives to hydrogen and onshore wind. The strategy emphasises targeted funding, supply chain growth and competitive energy costs to drive innovation, job creation and decarbonisation across the UK’s industrial base.
The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy 2025
UK Government publications developed in close consultation with industry set out a 10-year plan to increase business investment and grow the industries of the future.
Source: The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy 2025
World Economic Forum 2025 report highlights 10 innovations reshaping the future
The World Economic Forum’s 2025 report identifies ten breakthrough technologies poised to significantly impact society and the economy within the next few years. These innovations address urgent challenges in climate, health and digital trust.
The report spotlights several transformative trends in the energy sector:
Structural Battery Composites: These materials integrate energy storage directly into the structure of vehicles and aircraft, making them lighter and more efficient. By combining structural support with battery function, they promise to improve energy efficiency, reduce manufacturing costs, and promote recycling in electric vehicles and aerospace.
Next-Generation Nuclear Energy: The report highlights the push to triple global nuclear capacity by 2050, with a focus on small modular reactors (SMRs). SMRs can be rapidly deployed at existing industrial sites, offering a compact, reliable, and clean energy source. Advances in mass manufacturing and AI-driven licensing are expected to cut costs and speed up deployment, making nuclear a key player in meeting rising clean energy demand.
Osmotic Power Systems: New methods for harvesting energy where freshwater meets saltwater are reaching commercial viability. Recent breakthroughs in capacitive reversed electrodialysis have surpassed economic break-even points, showing potential for large-scale, non-intermittent renewable energy production, especially in coastal regions. These innovations reflect a broader shift toward integrated, scalable, and sustainable energy solutions to address climate change and rising global energy needs.
‘Record15’ project launches with 15+ MW turbine on Ocergy platform
A new joint industry project has officially launched to install a state-of-the-art floating wind turbine rated above 15 megawatts on Ocergy’s modular OCG-Wind platform by 2028.
Ocergy has signed a Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) contract for this pilot project with offshore wind developers EnBW, Kyuden Mirai Energy, and TEPCO Renewable Power.
The OCG-Wind platform features a turbine-agnostic, modular design that enables efficient assembly from prefabricated steel components, supporting scalable, serial production using today’s supply chain and infrastructure.
Prior to the the RECORD15 project, Ocergy’s substructure will be deployed at a 3 megawatt scale in 2025 at TotalEnergies’ Culzean INTOG site in the North Sea.
This announcement is part of a broader wave of new full-scale floating offshore wind (FOW) demonstrators:
- SCALEWIND: California’s Aikido Technologies and Norway’s Odfjell Oceanwind will deploy the SCALEWIND project in 2028, showcasing a 15 MW turbine on the Deepsea Star semi-submersible foundation, complete with mooring, dynamic cables, and subsea grid connections.
- AO60: Aikido Technologies will also deploy their 15 MW AO60 demo at Norway’s METCentre in 2027. The Aikido platform uses thirteen modular steel components, enabling fabrication at existing offshore wind or steel facilities.
These projects mark significant progress in commercial-scale floating wind technology, paving the way for larger, more cost-effective offshore wind farms.
Reduced Commercial Risks with Demo of 15+ MW (RECORD15) JIP
Image source: Ocergy via LinkedIn
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