Japan’s shipping firm Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) has invested in a floating wind technology start-up, TouchWind. TouchWind has developed the tilting-angled one-piece rotor wind turbine that is expected to reduce wind interference between wind turbines that tends to occur in large wind farms and improve overall wind farm power generation efficiency.
As per the firm, its design enables the wind turbines to operate in strong winds, reduces the weight of the wind turbine and floating parts, and is expected to improve the utilisation rate and the economics of the wind turbine equipment through their lifecycle.
The firm said that since 2019, it has been conducting tests to demonstrate the principle of its wind turbine technology with the help of grants from the Government of the Netherlands and supporting companies. Moreover, in July 2023, the start-up firm had received a grant to manufacture up to ten 6m-diameter wind turbines with an output of 12 kW. It will be conducting tests to verify the effect of reducing wind interference between wind turbines on land and offshore in Netherlands, from 2024 to 2025.
With the participation of investment in TouchWind, the firm believe that MOL will advance technology development for the practical application of its wind turbines, Further, it aims to acquire business opportunities within the supply chain of next-generation floating offshore wind turbines in Europe, Japan, and other Asian regions in the future.
