UK-based company Tugdock has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Salamander Offshore Wind to collaborate on innovations for floating offshore wind energy in Scotland.

Tugdock, headquartered in Cornwall, has developed patented marine buoyancy technology that facilitates the construction and assembly of heavy marine structures in ports with water depth or space limitations.

Salamander Offshore Wind is a joint venture development project involving Simply Blue Group, Ørsted, and Subsea7. It is working on a floating wind farm off the coast of Peterhead in North-East Scotland as part of Crown Estate Scotland's Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing round.

Through this collaboration, Salamander Offshore Wind aims to explore research and innovation opportunities related to the development of technologies and supply chains for floating wind energy in Scotland. Tugdock's technology employs modular road-transportable space frames with patented air lift bags that can be filled and vented using compressed air. These air lift bags, when configured within a space frame arrangement, act as buoyancy modules or submersible platforms.

This technology allows for the construction, assembly, and integration of floating offshore wind turbine substructures in ports with limited water depth or space, offering a lighter, shallower-drafted, quicker, and more cost-effective alternative to steel-hulled barges or floating docks.

The collaboration between Tugdock and Salamander Offshore Wind is expected to drive innovation and accelerate the development of floating wind energy, contributing to the UK's mission to achieve net-zero emissions.