By Kari Williamson

ABB Inocean AB, which will be located in Gothenburg, Sweden, will undertake design, engineering and project management activities including fabrication supervision of platforms required for offshore wind connections supplied by ABB.

The move is aimed at accelerating the build-up of offshore competence to support ABB’s growing offshore wind power integration business.

Offshore wind power is estimated to contribute up to 100 GW of additional renewable capacity between 2011-2025, with Europe accounting for around 70%.

“Offshore wind power is a growing business for us and this joint venture will further strengthen ABB’s competence and expertise in this area,” says Martin Gross, Head of ABB’s Grid Systems business. ABB will have a majority shareholding in the entity.

ABB is already involved in four large offshore wind connection projects – BorWin 1, DolWin1, Dolwin 2 and Thornton Banks.

Inocean is a naval architecture firm in Oslo, Norway, that delivers design and engineering services to the maritime industry, worldwide.