HIGHLIGHTS
MATURING PROJECTS UNDER DEVELOPMENT
- First year of bird and mammals survey completed on Buchan Offshore Wind project
- Mobilization of geophysical survey vessels
- Start of assembly preparation on first EolMed floater in Port-la-Nouvelle
EXPANDING OUR SUBSTANTIATED PIPELINE IN STRATEGIC MARKETS
- Signing of HoT with Elawan to co-develop projects in Spain & Portugal (May)
- Approval of partnership for Celtic Sea Tender
- Approval of a new partnership in Asia
SECURING ADDITIONAL FUNDING
- Exclusive negotiations for a EUR 40 million funding by ADEME Investissement of BW Ideol’s project development activities
- Signing of EUR 12 million shareholder loan with BW Offshore and Noria
- Up to GBP 300 million equity funding secured by Ardersier Port
MAINTAINING STRICT CASH DISCIPLINE
- First quarter 2023 engineering revenue of EUR 0.98 million
- Cash position of EUR 5.6 million at end of March 2023
- First quarter operating cash-burn limited to EUR 1.4 million
BW Ideol continues to make good progress in executing its dual-leg strategy as co-developer of floating wind projects and as EPCI contractor of floating wind technology by maturing ongoing projects and adding new opportunities to the project pipeline.
Offshore wind is set to play a vital role in enabling decarbonation of energy systems and ensuring energy security. On 24 April, nine European countries signed the Ostend Declaration, aiming to jointly produce at least 120 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030 and at least 300 gigawatts by 2050 in the North Sea. The declaration also covers the Atlantic Ocean, Celtic Sea and Irish Sea, where the nine signatories will endeavour to accelerate deployment of offshore renewables and connectivity in these areas.
“The broad political support and a significant increase European ambitions reflect that a growing number of nations consider offshore wind as a key contributor to energy transition and security. This is aligned with our conviction that floating wind will be one of the main enabling technologies,” said Paul de la Guérivière, the CEO of BW Ideol. “We are making good progress across our project portfolio at the forefront of this development and are very pleased to establish a long-term partnership with ADEME Investissement and strengthen the financial platform for execution of our strategy in the current turbulent financial markets.”
At the end of March 2023, BW Ideol had 1 GW of projects under development and approximately 5.1 GW of substantiated pipeline of projects. Business development activity is high as nations and corporations seek ways to decarbonise various industry value chains. This is reflected in four feasibility studies for oil and gas companies for creating a framework for power-to-platform projects in cooperation with BW Offshore. BW Ideol is well positioned to contribute to the energy transition at scale as a leading project developer and technology provider with a unique platform for execution of offshore floating wind developments.
FUNDING
0n 22 March, BW Ideol and ADEME Investissement, a state-owned French financier of innovative infrastructure projects, announced exclusive negotiations related to EUR 40 million of equity funding of BW Ideol’s project development activities. Under the agreed terms, BW Ideol will transfer its co-development project portfolio to a newly created subsidiary BW Ideol Projects Company, subject to approval of projects partners and tendering authorities. ADEME Investissement will invest the total equity in the project holding company through capital increases, with an initial EUR 16.7 million paid at first closing. Subsequent capital injections will be based on project funding calls with a co-financing at equal share between BW Ideol and ADEME Investissement.
Following first closing, BW Ideol will own 76.6% of DevCo, representing a post-money valuation of BW Ideol Projects Holding of around EUR 72 million. ADEME Investissement is set to increase its holding over time as further projects are matured and financed. Under the agreement, BW Ideol will manage the project holding company through a service agreement. When all funding calls are completed, both ADEME Investissement and BW Ideol will have invested EUR 40 million each in BW Ideol Projects Company.
ADEME Investissement has been granted a two-month exclusivity period. Negotiations are ongoing with completion of first closing on track for end of the second quarter of 2023, subject to final negotiations and approval by the respective decision bodies of BW Ideol and ADEME Investissement.
BW Ideol will retain full ownership of its other business activities and assets, including technology, related IP and know-how portfolio, the floater EPCI business line and the exclusivity with the Port of Ardersier in Scotland for a floater production line, the Floatgen demonstrator, the ownership in the EolMed project, as well as all the teams, including engineering, business development, project execution, supply chain, legal, innovation, finance.
Separately, BW Ideol signed a EUR 12 million shareholder loan with BW Offshore and Noria, which combined with the planned funding from ADEME Investissement, is expected to provide financing BW Ideol’s business plan for the next 12 months. BW Ideol is also exploring other options to cover the Company’s long-term financing requirements.
FINANCIALS
Revenue from customer contracts for the first three months of 2023 was EUR 0.98 million, reflecting mainly design and engineering activities and royalties for projects in France, Scotland and Asia. Operating loss before depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the period was EUR 1.5 million, compared to a loss of EUR 1.4 million in the year-ago period. Operating cashflow in the first quarter was negative at EUR 1.4 million.
At 31 March 2023, total equity was EUR 92.7 million and the equity ratio was 77%. Total cash was EUR 5.6 million, compared to EUR 9.1 million at 31 December 2022.
OPERATIONS
In late April, the construction site for the three floating offshore wind turbines for the 30 MW EolMed project was officially opened at Port-la Nouvelle, France. Construction start was marked with the arrival of the initial prefabricated steel blocks which will make up the floating substructures based on BW Ideol’s patented dampening pool design. The entire floater fabrication will be executed in France, demonstrating that BW Ideol’s technology is compatible with the highest levels of local content. It is expected that the construction will take around 18 months and consume 250,000 man-hours. The Company has 5% ownership stake in the project and provides engineering services during the construction phase.
At the site of the 960 MW Buchan Offshore Wind farm off the northeast coast of Scotland, Buchan Offshore Wind Limited (formerly named Floating Energy Allyance) proceeded with site investigations and environmental studies in preparation for the consent application process. Buchan Offshore Wind Limited has appointed Ocean Infinity to execute the initial geophysical and geotechnical site investigations as a key step in the design and assessment process. Survey campaign scheduled to take place later in 2023. BOWL comprises BayWa r.e., Elicio and BW Ideol. In addition to a 33.3% equity holding in the wind-farm project, BW Ideol will design the floating foundations based on its proven and patented Damping Pool® technology. Construction is targeted to start in 2028 with commissioning of the wind farm in 2031.
The collaboration with the EDF Renewables and Maple Power consortium for the 250 MW AO5 offshore floating wind tender near coast of South Brittany continues with the final date of bid-submission in the third quarter of 2023 and the license award expected at the end of the year or early 2024. BW Ideol also cooperates with EDF Renewables and Maple Power on the design of floating foundations for the AO6 floating wind tender in the Mediterranean Sea covering two 250 MW sites. The consortium has been preselected for the AO6 tender. The competitive dialogue was launched in August 2022 and bid submission is expected at end of 2023 with award in 2024.
In May, the Company signed a Head of Terms with Elawan for the co-development of a multi-GW pipeline of projects in the Iberian Peninsula. Elawan is a Spanish company, 100% owned by ORIX Corporation, with more than 2.6 GW of renewable assets built and an 8.4 GW portfolio of renewable projects. The companies are working to formalise the Joint Development Agreement and preparation of the upcoming tenders in Spain and Portugal.
Recently, the Company also approved a partnership in preparation for the 4 GW Celtic Sea tender expected to be launched in the third quarter of 2023 by Crown Estate Scotland. The Company also progresses several other initiatives including development of a commercial-scale floating wind farms in Japan and a floating demo project off Taiwan.
BW Ideol’s commercial development is founded on the Group’s floating wind technology and expertise. The Group is continuously seeking to advance its technology solutions to grow its team competencies and skills and apply them to new products supporting safe and cost-efficient development of industrial scale floating wind farms.
The Floatgen floating unit installed offshore western France produced 1.74 GWh of renewable power during the quarter and had, at the end of the March, produced 25.9 GWh of electricity with high availability since commissioning, reflecting the seakeeping performance of BW Ideol’s proprietary Damping Pool design. Throughout 2022 and in early 2023, the power output from Floatgen has on several occasions exceeded the maximum expected output from the Vestas V80 turbine, confirming the exceptional performance offered by the movements of BW Ideol’s Damping Pool design.
OUTLOOK
BW Ideol aims to be a leading long-term owner of floating wind assets in key offshore markets worldwide. The primary focus is to continuously progress, expand and de-risk the Group’s project pipeline. The planned funding from ADEME Investissement and shareholder loan is expected to finance the Company’s business plan for the next 12 months and support work on establishing additional long-term funding.
BW Ideol has set a goal to be involved in an approximately 10 GW gross portfolio of floating wind projects by 2030 by developing the existing pipeline and strong joint venture partnerships, through scaling and optimisation of the patented Damping Pool® technology, and by developing the global organisation and leveraging the partnership with BW Offshore, including in the power-to-platform market.
The Group considers itself to be ahead of plan for the 10 GW target based on the recent progress. The rapid global expansion of the commercial scale floating wind market supports a continued strong market outlook, as BW Ideol’s teams are preparing up to 20 GW of confirmed tenders to be potentially awarded in 2023 in key markets.
Please find attached the first quarter 2023 presentation.
WEBCAST
The Company will hold a webcast call followed by a live Q&A on 22 May at 11:00 CEST. The webcast will be held in English by CEO Paul de la Guérivière and CFO Nicolas de Kerangal.
The webcast will be available by following this link: https://app.webinar.net/6lNa8BxGdXn
Please note that if you follow the webcast via the above URL, you will experience a 30 second delay compared to the main conference call. The web page works best in an updated browser – Chrome is recommended.
For further information, please contact:
Nicolas de Kerangal, Chief Financial & Partnerships Officer at BW Ideol, +33 (0) 7 76 87 70 08,
[email protected]
About BW Ideol: BW Ideol is a leading fully integrated platform in floating offshore wind with more than 12 years of experience from design, execution and development of floating wind projects based on our patented floating offshore wind technology and engineering capabilities. The company has a dual-leg growth strategy as a floater EPCI and maintenance services provider and as a wind-farm project developer and co-owner. BW Ideol has two full-scale offshore floating wind turbines in operation in France and Japan, a significant project pipeline, and is supported by BW Offshore’s extensive experience from developing and operating offshore energy production systems.
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act
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