Bureau Veritas (BV) has delivered an approval in principle (AiP) to Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) for its design and development of the floating offshore wind turbine foundation Hi-Float.

Hi-Float is designed to support a 10MW wind turbine with proven semi-submersible and mooring technology.

A passive ballast system ensures that risk is kept to a minimum during offshore operations.

The good performance of Hi-Float in offshore environment was verified through numerical analysis and wave basin model testing.

HHI executive vice president Seon Mook (pictured third from right) said: "Obtaining the AiP for these innovative floating offshore wind turbine foundations is a meaningful technological milestone that will enable our solutions to contribute to the global decarbonisation effort.

"In addition, Hi-Float provides higher productivity considering the construction yard infrastructure and efficiency of marine operations.

"These projects are part of our continuous endeavors and commitment to a sustainable future that is aligned with HHI Group’s ESG vision 'Beyond Blue Forward to Green'.

"We also promise that HHI Group will encourage new value creation to lead the market, responding to customers’ desire for the achievement of net zero emissions."

Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore executive vice president Alex Gregg-Smith said: "Bureau Veritas is proud of the successful completion of this AiP with Hyundai Heavy Industries for the design of its Hi-Float floating offshore wind turbine foundation.

"This announcement demonstrates the importance of this technology, which will enable the development of future clean energy with zero carbon emissions, while managing risks of floating offshore wind farm development with efficient and safe operation of large scale wind turbines.

"We are also confident that our cooperation on technology development will lead to further successes to both HHI and BV within the developing renewable energy and floating offshore wind technology sectors, which will play a major role in the fight against climate change."