Moray Base: a scalable and cost-effective solution for floating wind energy

Why the strong focus on Moray Base?

Christiaan Schuiling: The offshore wind market is growing at an incredible pace. The global demand for renewable energy is rising sharply, yet suitable offshore locations for bottom-fixed turbines are becoming increasingly scarce. Floating structures are the key to unlocking new areas for wind development.

But this brings significant challenges. To meet the growing demand, floaters must be suitable for serial production. The production process must no longer take years—as is too often the case today. On top of that, the design has to allow for efficient transport and straightforward assembly. Moray Base addresses each of these challenges head-on.

The challenge of scalable production

Why is serial production so essential and so hard to achieve

Christiaan Schuiling: The monopiles can be produced in large volumes without issue, anywhere in the world. However, most floaters developed to date are still built using shipbuilding methods: this means that every floater is built individually, what makes true serial production nearly impossible.

Yet speed is critical. When developing an offshore wind farm, you might need to install a hundred turbines within a single season. That demands a highly efficient and streamlined production process.

Over the past year, we’ve actively searched for energy companies and industrial partners willing to demonstrate the technical feasibility of our concept by building a prototype. This is no small ask, as developing a prototype comes with a multi-million-euro price tag.

On top of that, Moray Base doesn’t look like a traditional shipbuilding design. Its asymmetrical shape instantly attracts attention, but also raises questions. That’s why building a demonstrator is so essential.

How does Moray Base enable true serial production?

Christiaan Schuiling: Moray Base is heavily inspired by the production approach of monopiles, which are already being built globally at industrial scale. That means Moray Base can also be constructed anywhere in the world in a fast, industrialised manner. A large part of the process can be automated as well, significantly lowering labour costs.

Optimising for production efficiency

Have you made recent design updates to improve producibility?

Christiaan Schuiling: Absolutely. We’ve added braces to further facilitate serial production. We’re also working to streamline the internal outfitting, standardising the ballast system and reducing the number of stairways and platforms. These changes all contribute to a faster, more cost-effective manufacturing process.

Transport and assembly: often a bottleneck

How does Moray Base address these challenges?

Christiaan Schuiling: A well-designed supply chain is crucial. From manufacturing to transport and assembly— all parts of the chain must be seamlessly connected.

Its various components can be easily transported using open-top trucks, without the need for complex or costly logistics solutions. Assembly then takes place offshore, meaning there’s no requirement for large port facilities—even smaller ports can serve as logistical hubs.

Not only is the Moray Base floater itself patented, but so is the assembly method. The entire concept was built from the ground up with efficient production and installation in mind.

First commercial projects in progress

Where do you stand in terms of commercialisation?

Christiaan Schuiling: We’ve found several partners with whom we’re collaborating on the development and construction of floating wind demonstrator projects. The conceptual and basic engineering phases for an initial 16 MW version have been completed, and we’re now moving forward with its first realisation.

In parallel, we’ve begun preparations for a demonstrator project featuring floating turbines with a capacity of 18 megawatts.

If all goes according to plan, construction for one of these projects is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2026. By the summer of that year, we hope to launch the first Moray Base. These projects will be carried out in an environment with extreme climatic conditions, which makes them all the more valuable as a learning opportunity.

Certification

You’ve received Lloyd’s Register’s Approval in Principle. How important is that?

Christiaan Schuiling: It’s a major milestone and a recognition that key industry players have confidence in our concept. We’re now undergoing a similar approval process with DNV—another crucial step toward full-scale development and commercial rollout of Moray Base.

We’re confident that Moray Base has a bright future ahead—and that it can make a real, lasting impact on the expansion of the floating offshore wind sector.