The study aimed to inform Scottish Enterprise about the feasibility of various floating platform options, highlighting the transformative potential of temporary floating ports in addressing critical challenges faced by the OSW industry.

ELIRE Infra was recently invited as part of a small group of companies to contribute in detail to an industry feasibility study evaluating the potential of floating ports for offshore wind (OSW) deployment. Commissioned to inform Scottish Enterprise (SE), the feasibility study highlights the transformative potential of temporary floating ports in addressing critical challenges faced by the OSW industry, as Scotland focuses on leading in industries shaping the transition to net zero.
Developing and expanding ports with appropriate characteristics, including adequate lay down area, load capacity, lifting capability, and quayside depth is complex, costly, and will take several years to implement.
To alleviate reliance on conventional port infrastructure, Scottish Enterprise commissioned ARUP to conduct desk research and review floating/temporary port concepts and innovative deployment technologies proposed by several companies.
Study Key Findings:
The study concluded that floating ports are technically feasible, offering unique advantages including faster deployment and adaptability in locations unsuitable for traditional port infrastructure.
Whilst for some options, some costs are higher than traditional options, floating infrastructure ports are ideally suited for augmenting OSW deployment capacity in environmentally sensitive or land space-constrained areas.
The study also discovered that barriers such as funding, procurement and proprietary technology awareness must be addressed to unlock the full potential of floating platforms.
The findings of the study concluded that fostering collaboration between technology providers and OSW stakeholders is recommended to refine solutions and establish clear, location-specific development plans.
Fast pace solutions - Arup estimated the ELIRE Infra solution could be deployed and installed within a short time frame of 12-18 months.

As Derek McGlashan, VP of Ports, Energy & Sustainability, explains:
"Innovating, engineering and designing smarter floating options for ports is critical to support the environmental impacts of Offshore Wind developments in the future. Our solutions also change the game commercially, allowing for more ports to either remain relevant or become relevant for such large energy development projects while removing high CAPEX risks for the developers, ensuring commercial viability."
Derek McGlashan - VP of Ports, Energy
& Sustainability
Smart Hubs for space, speed, less impact & commercial viability.
As part of the study, ELIRE contributed its ‘Smart Hubs’ floating modular platform concept, a revolutionary approach to conventional port infrastructure. These hubs are designed to enable rapid deployment, with an ability to scale, expand, and reduce in size according to development demands.
The hubs offer environmental sensitivity and unmatched scalability-offering an immediate response to the growing demand for adaptable OSW logistics solutions.




A More Positive Environment Solution
With ELIRE’s solution, environmental disturbances are kept at a minimum, with any temporary damage restored upon removal compared to the permanent habitat destruction associated with traditional port expansion.
Aligned with eight UN Sustainability Goals, the state-of-the-art Smart Hubs offer cost-effective and sustainable long-term solutions with a lifespan of over 30 years, to address current and future challenges of ELIRE’s clients effectively, simultaneously enhancing the local economy, connecting communities and preserving local habitats.
These modular, scalable hubs are hexagonal, made up of a central technical ‘nucleus’ and six outer platforms. The hexagonal form brings increased strength and connections, allowing scalability and flexibility; many hexagons can be added together, or taken apart, and containerised for transportation, which means that ports and harbours are not left with an unused asset that is no longer generating revenue while continuing to carry maintenance liabilities.
With ELIRE’s solution, environmental disturbances are kept at a minimum, with any temporary damage restored upon removal compared to the permanent habitat destruction associated with traditional port expansion.




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