EPO to grant patent for Hexicon mooring system
The mooring system of the TwinWind floating wind design (Source: Hexicon)
Swedish offshore wind developer, Hexicon, is to receive additional patents from the European Patent Office (EPO) for the mooring system of its TwinWindTM floating wind design. The EPO already granted patent approval for the company’s inclined towers last year.
Now, the EPO’s approval of the tension leg platform TLP mooring system means that Hexicon can validate patents in a range of EPO member states. So far, the company is interested in about 20 European countries with a coastline.
Hexicon’s CTO, Niklas Hummel, commented: “This patent will give us wider exclusivity and security on the market and allow us to continue to develop a viable and competitive technology in TwinWind. Patents like this gives us the edge we need in the emerging floating wind market.”
The company’s mooring technology widens the scope for siting floating wind farms in deep waters while reducing the corresponding footprint on the seabed. Moorings can be adapted to suit different bottom types, marine environments, and weather conditions, the company said. Using this type of anchoring, wind farms can be sited in sea areas that would otherwise not be suitable for offshore wind production.
