Aluminum smelter Hydro and the newly launched enterprise World Wide Wind, both from Norway, are teaming up to explore a novel floating wind turbine concept, the companies inform in a press statement. 

The partnership aims to develop a design specially made for marine operation and entailing use of recycled materials.

“For Hydro, this is an entry into the wind turbine production chain, and at the same time, we are strengthening our position within renewable energy. Hydro sees the potential for increased aluminum in many industries, including wind power,” writes Norsk Hydro Corporate Technology Research Manage Trond Furu in the media release.

World Wide Wind Chief Executive Trond Lutal notes that today’s offshore wind turbines are largely developed based on onshore models, adding that deployment at sea requires something extra:

“We are developing a new type of floating wind turbine for deep waters, with significant benefits relative to current technology in energy production, cost, scalability, and environmental footprint [by using] aluminum components in parts of the wind turbine structure,” he relays.

Floating wind turbines under development by World Wide Wind are reportedly scalable up to 40MW and also use less material for construction.

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