The consortium led by Esteyco, developing the WHEEL project funded through the Horizon Europe program of the European Union, has recently completed the technical and financial review corresponding to the second execution period at the Port of Las Palmas. The meeting served to consolidate the roadmap towards the commercialization of a technology poised to transform the offshore energy sector.
María Ángeles Ortega, head of R&D department, has supervised, along with the EU Project Officer, the progress made to date. The highlight of the visit was the direct inspection of the WHEEL prototype on Airbarge, a engineering solution enabling the manufacturing of wind turbine substructures in virtually any port facility, eliminating the traditional limitations of draft or heavy equipment.
This innovation provides the offshore wind energy value chain with unprecedented flexibility, allowing for the decentralization of the production of large wind infrastructure. The success of this deployment, as highlighted by the R&D department, is the result of ongoing commitment among consortium partners and the strategic guidance received from the European Commission.
The project’s goal now focuses on the scalability phase, aiming to bring this technology to the international market. With this advancement, WHEEL positions itself as a key element to reduce logistical costs and increase the sustainability of offshore wind energy, making wind farm production viable in ports that, until now, lacked the necessary technical infrastructure to undertake these high complexity projects.
