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Encomara’s Squid connection system for floating offshore wind has reached Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7/8 following successful full-scale inshore trials at Ardersier Port in Scotland. The milestone means the technology has been demonstrated at full scale and is now considered ready for commercial manufacturing at scale, with recognition from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).
One of the challenges of floating offshore wind is the complexity of connecting floating turbines to mooring systems and dynamic power cables offshore.
Squid takes a different approach by allowing key subsea infrastructure to be installed ahead of the turbine. This could reduce the amount of offshore work required when the turbine arrives, potentially lowering installation complexity, vessel requirements and exposure to weather-dependent operations.
Relevance to SA
The development is highly relevant to SA's subsea, survey, marine and offshore engineering capabilities.
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Looking Ahead
Floating offshore wind is moving toward smarter, more modular offshore installation methods.
Encomara’s Squid system could help simplify one of floating wind’s key challenges—connecting turbines to their subsea mooring and power infrastructure—while potentially reducing installation costs and making future maintenance more flexible.
For SA, it reinforces the growing need for subsea expertise, ROV capability, marine operations, engineering and specialist personnel as floating wind moves from demonstration projects toward commercial-scale deployment.
