Startup Supported by Bill Gates Demonstrates Folding Floating Wind Platfom

Startup floating wind technology company Aikido Technologies is ready to launch the first demonstration of its unique folding floating wind platform. The company promotes its technology as providing a faster and more cost-effective solution to the deployment of floating offshore wind turbines.

Aikido Technologies was founded in 2022 with the support of Breakthrough Energy Fellows an accelerator, incubator program launched in 2021. Bill Gates of Microsoft fame announced the program saying that unlike others it would focus on the particular needs of climate innovation. In September 2024, the effort reported it had surpassed 100 fellows as it welcomed its Fourth Cohort and opened applications for the fifth wave.

In June 2024, Aikido reported it had raised $4 million in seed financing as it continues to develop its technology and prepare for its first demonstration which is underwritten by the Gates initiative. New investors included Azolla Ventures which led the round along with participation from Propeller Ventures, Sabanci Climate Ventures, Cisco Foundation, and Anthropocene Ventures. The U.S. Department of Energy is also supporting the project.

Chet Morrison Contractors and Morrison Fabrication in Harvey, Louisiana were awarded in April 2024 the contract to build the first 1:4 scale 100 kW floating wind platform. Aikido reports the company completed the assignment in less than 40 working hours, which it says is a new standard in the industrialization of floating platforms.

Among the unique features of the design, Aikido highlights the platform uses pin joints that enable serialized production of its 13 major steel components. The design allows the structure to fold up during assembly and transport occupying two-thirds less space in a shipyard or port. The design was reviewed by the American Bureau of Shipping which granted the concept an Approval in Principle.

The platform’s unique design also permits it to be transported on traditional barges. The company highlights it is compact and can dramatically reduce construction times. They also note that the smaller size reduces the requirements for ports and makes it possible to employ smaller ports as the onshore base.

Aikido says the platform design is well suited for domestic U.S. production and especially in the U.S. Gulf Coast region, where there exists an ecosystem of supplying, building, and transporting offshore structure.

Port Pascagoula in Mississippi has signed a memorandum of understanding with Aikido to provide space for the testing of the Aikido One platform. The company has it will be off Singing River Island Pier. They report the project will prove the concept in realistic conditions and demonstrate the potential to open up the floating offshore wind sector.