Technip, SBM Form Offshore Wind Energy JV

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Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Following a win in the Middle East with a contract to support liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the energy transition, Technip Energies N.V. (Paris, France) said it was creating a joint venture with SBM Offshore to cater to the offshore wind energy sector.

Ekwil will be a 50:50 joint venture between Technip Energies and SBM Offshore, "a pure player delivery partner offering a diversified range of 'series production' floating offshore wind solutions to meet the growing and demanding needs of energy customers around the world."

Europe is already the world leader in offshore wind energy capacity. The bloc set a record in 2019 with 3.6 gigawatts of potential energy from offshore wind and aims to reach 160 GW of installed capacity by 2030.

With headquarters in France, the joint venture will have an initial team of 40 specialists led by newly-minted chief executive officer (CEO) Severine Baudic, the former managing director for new energy services at SBM Offshore.

"By bringing together two world leading players, Ekwil will accelerate the deployment of industrial solutions for the nascent Floating Offshore Wind market," said Arnaud Pieton, the CEO of Technip Energies. "This joint-venture with SBM Offshore illustrates the commitment of Technip Energies to provide a diversified and expanding range of low-carbon solutions to support the global net-zero trajectory."

Technip Energies has been on something of a streak in terms of contracts related to clean energy. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) recently picked the French services company for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work at a planned export facility for LNG at the Ruwais Industrial City.

The plant, the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, will run on nuclear energy rather than gas turbines, supporting a broader decarbonization effort across the area. The latest EPC contract focuses on lowering the plant's emissions.

In the U.S. market, meanwhile, Technip Energies is overseeing engineering and procurement at a carbon capture, storage and utilization facility that will be attached to an industrial steel plant in Louisiana.

The energy transition is taking off, though it may need to move faster to keep global warming from running off track.

The International Energy Agency estimates that investments in clean energy will need to triple to around $4 trillion by 2030 in order to establish a net-zero carbon economy globally by 2050.

Many industries such as solar and wind energy are mature, though emerging technologies such as hydrogen are still in the nascent stage. Meanwhile, cleaner fuels such as LNG, seen as something of a bridge to a cleaner future, are prone to methane leaks up and down the supply chain.

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