Summary
- Profile Type
- Technology request
- POD Reference
- TRGB20250721015
- Term of Validity
- 21 July 2025 - 21 July 2026
- Company's Country
- United Kingdom
- Type of partnership
- Commercial agreement with technical assistance
- Targeted Countries
- Japan
- United States
- China
- Norway
- Germany
- Taiwan
- South Korea
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General information
- Short Summary
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IOD Ltd, a UK based SME with a concept of floating crane.It is seeking support for further product development and commercialisation, form a corporate partner, with existing involvement in the offshore industry. Studies have been completed by the University of Strathclyde (TRL 3), funded by UK’s Innovation Agency. Further studies are required, before tank testing and prototyping.
They seek support to further develop and commercialise the concept, from a company with relevant technical ability. - Full Description
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When deployed and extended, the buoyancy of the Spar Buoy provides the support and stability for the crane (which is mounted on the top), enabling it to operate safely. And as the Spar Buoy is mounted via a Gimbal frame through its hull, the vessels is able to move independently of the Spar Buoy, on the sea surface.
Once the lifting operation is complete, the crane is lowered, the Gimbal Frame locked and the Telescopic Spar Buoy telescopically retracted into its top section (held by the Gimble in the vessels Moonpool and above deck), it is then free to navigate in shallow waters and enter harbour.
A team of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers at the University of Strathclyde have been working on the project, under the guidance of the concept architect, Steven Peace. Steven is the founder of Innovative Offshore Developments Ltd (IOD) and is an engineer with over 45 years of experience, over 18 years of which has been spent working on offshore renewables.
The crane concept is currently at TRL3, moving towards TRL4 -5 and it is considered crucial that a technology partner is identify at this stage, to provide guidance on the vessel build and the commercialisation processes. Although the UK has plenty of expertise and experience in Naval Architecture and marine design engineering, it now lacks the large commercial ship building facilities and industry required to fully support the projects commercialisation and exploit the world market opportunity.
The crane would be intended for use in deep water, heavy lifting operations, where conventional jack-up vessels are out of their depths, normal floating cranes have limited operational windows, due to sea states, and the highly expensive mega semi-submersible cranes are scarce and overkill for the requirement.
The current UK patent pending application also includes a number of spin-off concepts. These include a telescopic deep water wind turbine foundation, a deployment vessel for the wind turbine, a motion resistant deck for supply vessels, and a combination of these. The patent is now entering its international phase, with applications being made in Europe, South Korea, China, Japan, and the USA.
The support sought is a combination of technological support, advising on crane and vessel construction, or the adaption of existing vessels, and market positioning and penetration.
The ideal Corporate Partner would be active in the offshore industry and could be a ship builder, a wind farm developer, an energy company, a wind farm and/or oil & gas contractor, or a major offshore equipment or solution provider.
It is intended that the manufacturing of the end products would be licensed to capable manufacturing facilities in various regions around the world. It is anticipated that the partner could profit from the eventual manufacture.
The main target markets are countries with high offshore renewable targets and deep waters close to shore. These include parts of the North Sea, The Baltic Sea, most of the Asian Pacific, The Gulf of Mexico, and the West coast of the USA. Specific countries include Norway, Germany, Japan, Tiawan, South Korea, China and the USA - Advantages and Innovations
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At present there are three options when erecting offshore wind farms and performing heavy lift operations offshore. These are:
1, Jack-up vessels, which have legs that go down to the seabed and lift the whole vessel out of the water, so creating a stable platform. These vessels are limited to a maximum water depth of about 60m.
2, Standard floating crane vessels, which rely on pumping water ballast around tanks in their hulls, and positioning boosters to stabilise the vessel and hold its position. These can only operate in vary calm sea states.
3, Extremely large semi-submersible vessels, which look like a floating oil rig and have a superstructure under the water with large ballast tanks. When on station these tanks are filled with water pulling the vessel down and providing it with stability. These vessels are very large, cost around £1 billion to build and there are only around 4 – 5 worldwide.
The developed vessel would provide a relatively low-cost motion resistant floating crane alternative, which could be capable of lifting 900t or more, to heights in excess of 150m, and in water depths of over 80m. The design is scalable and could therefore be built smaller for normal (lower weigh and heigh) lifting operational requirements, or larger for the heavier, or higher lifting requirements. It would also allow for the free movement of the vessel in and out of shallower waters and harbours.
All patent searches and market studies to-date suggest that there are no similar crane vessels. With a recent study suggesting that at least 200 new vessels will be required over the next 10 years just to meet the worlds offshore wind targets, and with an average cost per vessel of between £250m - £400m, even if only 10% of these vessels were cranes, that’s a potential market of at least £5 - £8 billion over the next decade. - Technical Specification or Expertise Sought
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A partner should have a knowledge and expertise in ship building or conversion. It could also be an end user of such a heavy lift vessel, such as offshore marine contractor or energy company, that would have their own design engineering facilities and would commission vessels to be built or re-engineered, by others, to their own designs and specifications.
A potential partner should be active in one or more of the following:
• Marine Engineering
• Ship Building or conversion
• Naval architecture
• Marine contracting
• Presence in the marine industry (i.e. offshore wind, oil& gas, salvage operations, offshore lifting operations).
• Investment in marine technologies - Stage of Development
- Under development
- Sustainable Development Goals
- Goal 13: Climate Action
- Goal 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal
- Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
- Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Goal 14: Life Below Water
- Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being
- IPR status
- IPR applied but not yet granted
- IPR notes
- Patent's pending
Partner Sought
- Expected Role of a Partner
- Ideally a corporate partner who is already involved in the offshore industries. Primarily, a company that could support the project and be able to provide technical, and/or market advice and support. If the partner had modelling, testing, marine engineering or ship building / conversion capabilities, that would be a good fit.
- Type and Size of Partner
- SME 50 - 249
- SME 11-49
- Big company
- Type of partnership
- Commercial agreement with technical assistance
Dissemination
- Technology keywords
- 04005008 - Wind energy
- Market keywords
- 06003004 - Marine energy
- 06008 - Energy Storage
- 06003003 - Wind energy
- Sector Groups Involved
- Maritime Industries and Services
- Renewable Energy
- Mobility - Transport - Automotive
- Targeted countries
- Japan
- United States
- China
- Norway
- Germany
- Taiwan
- South Korea