Floating offshore wind energy developer Gazelle Wind Power (Gazelle) has secured €11.4 million (USD$12 million). The funds will be used to accelerate the development of Nau Azul, Gazelle’s 2MW grid-connected demonstrator in Aguçadoura, Portugal.
Gazelle said its floating offshore wind energy platform addresses critical industry challenges like high mass production and installation costs, complex supply chain logistics, limited suitable installation sites, and reducing the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) while mitigating the environmental impact of traditional platforms on marine ecosystems.
The company said its platform’s dynamic mooring system reduces pitch and balances movement in response to wind, waves, and tide. Its lightweight, modular design does not use active ballasting systems, and allows for scalable, adaptable configurations that can be fabricated in the shipyard and are easier to deploy in deep water.
Indico Capital Partners, investor in ocean related sustainable technologies, led the round which was joined by DST Group, August One, Wah Kwong, and E2IN2, among others.
“Indico’s reputation for backing pioneering, sustainable technologies speaks volumes about the potential they see in our floating wind platform technology unlocking the offshore wind industry globally,” commented Gazelle Wind Power CEO Jon Salazar. “The Nau Azul project will serve as an example of how to design, build, install, operate and therefore enable cost-competitive floating wind energy generation.”
Stephan de Moraes, Co-Founder and Managing General Partner at Indico Capital Partners stated: “Offshore renewables will be a fundamental contributor to a more sustainable energy production mix. For costs to be competitive we need new ways to build, install and operate these mega structures. Gazelle offers a solution for that pressing problem of cost competitiveness with a “lego” type of structure that will bring costs down dramatically and enables the installation of deep-sea wind farms all over the world.”
