Moving closer to commercial deployment promising potential through-life savings of £120m in a GW-scale floating wind farm
Apollo, an energy advisory and engineering consultancy, has received Approval in Principle (Level 2) from Bureau Veritas for its Palm Quick Connection System (QCS), bringing it closer to commercial deployment in floating offshore wind
The milestone follows a 12-month full-scale FEED study of the system, funded by the Offshore Wind Growth Partnership and Wave Energy Scotland.
The certification verifies that the Palm QCS has been independently reviewed against recognised industry standards, enabling it to progress towards full technical qualification and Type Approval.
The Palm QCS has been developed to simplify the connection and disconnection of dynamic cables from floating wind turbines, without requiring specialist vessels, drivers, or personnel transfer.
Apollo’s Palm QCS has demonstrated its potential in field trials, including 50 successful connect and disconnect operations in an offshore environment.
Benefits of the full-scale system include:
- Dynamic cable reconnection in 5.5 hours
- Potential through-life savings of £120 million in a gigawatt-scale floating wind farm
The system minimises offshore downtime, reduces exposure to weather risk, and enhances operational safety by avoiding the need for personnel transfer.
As floating offshore wind projects move towards commercial scale, developers are focused on reducing operational complexity, risk, and cost.
The combination of independent assurance and proven offshore performance enables developers and investors to trust the Palm QCS as a deployable solution for future projects.
The Palm QCS was originally developed as part of a Wave Energy Scotland technology programme and has since progressed through multiple development stages, including offshore trials and design for floating offshore wind applications.
Apollo also plans to conduct more subsea electrical trials in 2027 as part of an EU Horizon project led by the European Marine Energy Centre.
The company are also set to continue working with Bureau Veritas to progress the Palm QCS through technical qualification and towards full Type Approval.
Apollo is now seeking partners to support full-scale pilot deployment as the floating offshore wind sector accelerates towards commercial delivery.
Nigel Robinson, marine energies director at Apollo, said, “This milestone is another important step towards commercial deployment of our Palm QCS technology, crucially helping demonstrate the bankability of the system.
“Working with Bureau Veritas has been a pleasure. We were pleased with the in-depth technical scrutiny they applied to our design and trials work, which added real value as we progressed our full-scale FEED. The team is looking forward to the next level of qualification as we progress towards that first full-scale deployment.”
Stéphanie GASC, BV M&O design assessment S.U.R.F engineer, said, “We conducted a comprehensive review of Apollo's Palm QCS FEED design and first approach offshore trial documentation. Constructive feedback throughout the assessment process was appreciated, and we feel it supported compliance with subsea industry standards. This collaborative approach between our teams provided the good understanding and confidence for the next step of technology qualification assessment."
