POSCO-SK Ecoplant to Develop Offshore Wind 'K-Buoy'

Joint Development of Floating Hull, a Core Structure of Floating Offshore Wind Power
Obtained Basic Design Certification from DNV Denmark

POSCO and SK Ecoplant have jointly developed a floating offshore wind turbine floater using purely domestic technology, laying the foundation for growth in the eco-friendly offshore wind power market.

Since 2021, the two companies have been collaborating on the joint development of the 'K-Floater' and on the 7th received the Approval In Principle (AIP) for the basic design from the globally renowned certification body 'DNV'. AIP (Approval In Principle) signifies approval that the design meets an appropriate level of reliability and feasibility in the shipbuilding, marine, and industrial plant sectors.

The floater is a core structure of floating offshore wind power. Unlike fixed offshore wind turbines anchored to the seabed, floating offshore wind power generates electricity by floating the wind turbine on the sea like a buoy. This method allows installation in far offshore areas with stronger winds, improving electricity production efficiency, and enables construction in deep waters, thus reducing site constraints.

The eco-friendly wind energy market, including offshore wind power generation, is expected to grow rapidly. According to the 10th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand recently announced by the government, the target for onshore and offshore wind power generation by 2036 is about 34GW, more than 20 times the 2021 level. The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) forecasts that the total floating offshore wind power market will reach 18.9GW by 2030.

Additionally, the industry estimates the unit cost of floaters for 10MW-class floating offshore wind turbines to be around 9 billion KRW. If the global floating offshore wind power deployment proceeds as projected by the GWEC, the floater market alone is expected to grow to approximately 17 trillion KRW.

POSCO is jointly developing and demonstrating a floating offshore wind floating body with SK Ecoplant using purely domestic technology. The photo shows a 1/36 scale model of the 'K-Floating Body' unveiled at a tank test held on September 26 last year at the Daejeon Ship and Offshore Plant Research Institute. Photo by POSCO

Recognizing the growth potential of floating offshore wind power, POSCO and SK Ecoplant signed a Memorandum of Understanding in April 2021 for the 'Development and Demonstration of Proprietary Floaters for Floating Offshore Wind Power' and have been cooperating since then.

POSCO, which has been researching floaters since 2014, is responsible for the basic design and development of cost-efficiency improvement technologies applying performance-enhanced steel, while SK Ecoplant, leveraging its offshore engineering experience with subsea tunnels and drilling vessels, is conducting detailed design and demonstration technology development.

The floater that recently received basic design certification was designed solely with domestic academic and industrial technology from KAIST, Jeju National University, and Marine Techin. This is the first of its kind in Korea. Considering the relatively shallow dock depths of domestic manufacturers, it was designed as a column-type to increase buoyancy for easier transportation and installation. The K-Floater is a semi-submersible floating model capable of installing large turbines over 10MW, able to withstand typhoons of about 40m/s, and maintain structural and functional stability under extreme natural conditions such as 2m/s currents and 10m wave heights.

Moreover, the K-Floater successfully completed a three-week performance tank test at the Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering (KRISO) in September last year, confirming a technology maturity level equivalent to floaters manufactured in Europe.

Typically, 200 to 300 tons of steel per MW are used for one floater. POSCO plans to apply its specialized performance-enhanced steel products for wind power, including uniform yield strength steel, fatigue-resistant steel, and high-ductility steel, to reduce the overall weight of the floater while improving structural stability.

Recently, as wind power structures have grown larger and the market has expanded from onshore to offshore, the importance of fatigue life has increased. While increasing plate thickness is a common method to withstand fatigue loads, applying POSCO’s fatigue-resistant thick plate products to floating offshore wind turbines over 10MW can reduce steel usage by more than 5% and increase fatigue life by over 10%. This is expected to contribute to reducing the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) as well.

On the 7th, at the SK Ecoplant headquarters in Jongno-gu, Seoul, POSCO and SK Ecoplant's 'K-Buoy' jointly developed with purely domestic technology received the Basic Design Approval (AIP) from DNV. From the right in the photo, Sungyeon Kim, Head of POSCO Steel Solutions Research Institute, Youngmin Baek, Head of Renewable Energy Certification at DNV Korea Branch, and Junghoon Kim, Net Zero Energy Officer at SK Ecoplant, are taking a commemorative photo. Photo by POSCO

At the certification ceremony, Kim Sung-yeon, head of POSCO Steel Solutions Research Institute, said, "Building a Korean-style floating offshore wind power supply village for technological independence in offshore wind power is very meaningful," adding, "To ensure the success of the floating offshore wind power project on the southeastern coast, POSCO will actively support SK Ecoplant, our client, by supplying excellent Greenable wind steel and providing solutions related to floating offshore wind power."

Greenable is POSCO’s integrated brand for eco-friendly and high-performance steel products and solutions applied in the production, transportation, and storage of future eco-friendly energies such as wind, solar, and hydrogen.

Going forward, POSCO plans to closely cooperate with SK Ecoplant to complete domestic floating offshore wind power technology through detailed design, manufacturing, and commissioning stages. The initial model will be applied first to the southeastern coast offshore wind power project in which SK Ecoplant is participating, aiming to commence commercial operation in the first quarter of 2027.

Furthermore, based on its technological capabilities demonstrated in the marine plant market, POSCO will actively secure steel demand for renewable energy in line with the global green energy expansion trend and continuously promote the development of eco-friendly customized steel products.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.