France’s Ideol has secured EUR 15 million funding from energy investor Kerogen Capital in order to accelerate the commercialization of its floating foundation solution in key geographies.
According to Ideol, Kerogen representatives will join the board and are expected to further boost Ideol’s growth efforts in the international energy sector.
In addition, the company’s existing shareholders, including Amundi Private Equity, Sofimac Regions and Paca Investment have agreed to subscribe new shares.
Paul de la Guerivière , CEO of Ideol, said: “Floating offshore wind is a burgeoning, yet fast accelerating market, with several pre-commercial and commercial-scale projects announced or under development in France, Scotland, California, Japan and Taiwan. The backing of a well established and internationally recognized energy specialist like Kerogen demonstrates that Ideol is well positioned to lead and reap the full benefits of this market’s acceleration.”
The investment represents Kerogen’s first in the renewable energy sector, Ideol said.
“We have been following the floating offshore wind industry for some time. Its supply chain has multiple cross-overs with where we already invest. We are firmly convinced that offshore floating wind will soon become a mainstream supplier of energy and that Ideol’s superior team and technology have a central role to play in making this happen,” Philip Jackson , Executive Board Member of Kerogen, said.
Ideol is developing the 2MW Floatgen floating project in France, which produced its first electricity in the port of Saint-Nazaire while undergoing tests in December 2017. The 2MW Vestas turbine mounted on Ideol’s Damping Pool floating base is now set to be towed to its location at the Centrale Nantes SEM-REV offshore site and then connected to the electricity grid.