Japanese Shipping Giant Buys Into Norwegian Floating Wind Firm

October 5, 2023

Credit: Odfjell OceanWind

Japanese shipping giant Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) has, following a recent private placement, become a shareholder in Odfjell Oceanwind, a Norwegian floating wind technology developer.

"The transaction generates significant capital which will be used to further strengthening Odfjell Oceanwind’s position as a global leader and frontrunner in floating offshore wind technologies. Odfjell Technology Ltd. combined with the Odfjell family’s direct investment will remain the largest shareholder in the company," MOL said.

The strategic partnership enables Odfjell Oceanwind to accelerate its business plan of supporting and partnering with offshore wind farm developers in realizing floating offshore wind projects based on proprietary Deepsea technologies.

This follows the recently announced partnerships with Source Galileo, a European platform for investments in renewable infrastructure, Kansai Electric Power - a large Japanese utility company, and Ingka – the investment arm of IKEA, for the ongoing Utsira Nord seabed lease competition.

The Deepsea floating offshore wind technologies are said to offer unique benefits in terms of standardized and DNV-approved designs for large 15MW+ conventional offshore wind turbines suitable for cost-efficient deployment to multiple locations including the harshest areas currently allocated for floating offshore wind. Signing ceremony in Oslo Credit: MOL

The Deepsea Star semisubmersible foundation design in steel has already been selected for the GoliatVIND and UtsiraVIND projects and is currently being considered for several INTOG and Scotwind projects, and for a total of 50 GW of projects globally with COD before 2035.

“MOL is a quality investor that perfectly complements our existing shareholders”, says CEO of Odfjell Oceanwind Per Lund. “Being one of the world’s largest shipping companies operating more than 800 ships, and with a rapidly increasing service portfolio relevant for floating offshore wind, MOL comes with valuable resources and experience that will be important to Odfjell Oceanwind in the time to come. The strong presence in the global market lends itself well to the stage Odfjell Oceanwind is in right now with a fast-growing international exposure.”

Masayuki Sugiyama, Executive Officer, Responsible for Wind Power Projects Unit, MOL, said:” We are delighted to join Odfjell Oceanwind as we see promising potential in their technology with rich history and background from Odfjell Drilling and Odfjell Technology. This strategic partnership perfectly matches with both companies’ culture, and we, as one of the shareholders, are fully committed to contributing to the acceleration of Odfjell Oceanwind’s ambition to be a global leader in floating offshore wind technologies.”