DECIMAP receives a grant for research on the HiveWind platform

Madrid, Spain — The DECIMAP project led by Senera will receive a grant of €700,000 ($749,000) from the Strategic Plan for the Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE) of the Spanish Maritime Sector.

DECIMAP, part of Navantia’s INNCODIS incubator program, is a EUR 2.9 million (USD 3.10 million) project that aims to deliver a new floating foundation for offshore wind turbines with a capacity of more than 15 MW.

It is based on the HiveWind semi-submersible floating steel platform concept that Sener and Nervión Naval-Offshore developed for offshore wind turbines.

HiveWind consists of six low-height columns arranged in a polygon shape to facilitate construction and reduce supply chain logistical requirements.

Rectangular struts arranged in the horizontal plane eliminate the need for complex connecting structures and limiting reinforcements of the elements. They are connected perpendicularly on the flat sides of the columns, again avoiding complex shapes in the connections.

One of the columns, located centrally on one side, is connected to the wind turbine tower via a transition element.

The platform can be adapted to local environmental and metoceanic requirements by using damping plates placed at the base of the buoyancy elements (columns) and connecting struts.

DECIMAP covers various stages of the offshore wind development process: site survey and definition of design conditions, validation of numerical models, design of auxiliary elements, definition of production and logistic processes, and certification by a classification society.

It will also assess the adaptability of the HiveWind foundation to various locations and high-power commercial turbines.