Subsea 7 is acquiring a majority stake in Spanish developer of technology for the floating wind market Nautilus Floating Solutions.
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. Tecnalia, the research and technological development centre, and Vicinay, the supplier of offshore mooring systems, will remain shareholders of Nautilus with equity interests of 29.14% and 11.74% respectively.
Nautilus will remain an autonomous company. It should benefit from the support of Subsea 7 in upcoming bids with clients in the floating wind industry.
John Evans, chief executive officer of 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.”
The Bilbao-based Nautilus has developed a 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.
