Discover the people behind FLOATFARM in our interview series!
Meet Marie-Laure Ducasse from Saipem with 6 questions and answers about the project goals, challenges and expected impact.
Could you briefly present your organization and its role within FLOATFARM?
SAIPEM is recognized as an EPCI company specializing in offshore infrastructures, encompassing everything from the engineering phase to installation, as well as operations & maintenance. Over the past decade, Saipem has significantly increased its involvement in energy transition developments, particularly in offshore fixed and floating wind projects. We have designed, fabricated, and installed jackets and gravity-based structures for numerous offshore projects in Europe and East Asia. In floating wind, we have been developing various concepts to provide the best solutions for future projects, currently focusing on a semi-submersible design called STAR1.
Saipem is actively involved in WP2, focusing on the design of the medium-scale platform STAR-1 and the mooring system to be installed in Naples Bay. We will also propose a design solution for the share mooring system in WP4.
Could you explain the work done by Saipem since the start of the project ?
We are currently working on the prototype design, which includes a preliminary design consolidated through an ILA (Integrated Load Analysis) procedure for extreme and fatigue analysis. The ILA procedure is an intensive engineering phase that considers environmental conditions (waves, wind, current), the hydrodynamics response of the floater and the mooring lines, and the aerodynamics forces from the turbine. From this design phase, we have issued the first drawings for fabrication of the prototype that was shared with the fabrication yard.
What are some anticipated milestones or achievements for WP2 in the coming months?
The key milestones in the coming months include launching the fabrication phase for the STAR-1 floating platform in summer 2025 in Naples, Italy, and preparing to install the platform in spring-summer 2026. We need to finalize all the detailed design to be ready for the fabrication. At this time, we will be supported CNR (National Research Council of Italy) which is our lead partner for the fabrication activity.
You were also a partner of the former project FLOATECH, how has your involvement with FLOATFARM changed?
In the FLOATECH project, we were involved in simulation software validation activities. This time, SAIPEM has a more operational role, designing the prototype and supporting CNR in the fabrication and installation phase.
As you are an industrial partner, what are the advantages for Saipem of participating in FLOATFARM?
For industrial partners like SAIPEM, establishing long-term relationships with academic partners is crucial. We can benefit from their expertise and share our constraints during the project execution phase.
In October 2023, you participated in the FLOATECH webinar Women4Wind: How to encourage women to pursue careers in the wind energy sector. From your perspective, what were the key takeaways or insights shared during the discussions, and how do you see these contributing to the broader dialogue in the wind energy sector?
The initiative was launched by Euronovia following informal discussions during the FLOATECH project, as we all recognized the lack of female representation in our sector. The webinar was quite successful, attracting more participants (mainly women, unfortunately) than I had anticipated. There was significant interest from younger women seeking insight and guidance from their peers. Gender equality programs in all EU companies address this issue, but it is relatively recent, and women have high expectations. Therefore, we need to continue to prioritize it on the agenda.
