Aker Solutions creating offshore wind, carbon capture spin-offs

Aker Solutions plans to separate its wind development business into a new entity, Aker Offshore Wind.

A private placement in this company will follow, guaranteed by Aker ASA, to ensure sufficient funding for the next phase of the development.

Aker Solutions is already involved in the emerging market for offshore floating wind, with stakes in various prospective projects in the US and South Korea, while also assessing markets such as Norway and the UK.

However, bringing large wind projects to fruition is capital-intensive, the company said, adding that a stand-alone entity will be better placed to raise the required capital.

Aker Solutions also plans to separate its carbon capture and underground storage (CCUS) business into a new entity, Aker Carbon Capture, headed by CEO Valborg Lundegaard.

The group has been developing CCUS solutions since the mid-1990s, with patented technology and a proven track-record.

However, most customers are currently outside traditional oil and gas markets, so the benefit from being part of the Aker Solutions group is limited from a market perspective.

Hydrogen production with CCUS offers strong growth but would require further capital to develop. A stand-alone entity should be better place to access low cost funding, the company claimed.

Currently the group is working on the first delivery of a modular carbon capture plant for a waste-to-energy plant in the Netherlands, and it hopes to secure the EPC contract for a carbon capture plant to Norcem HeidelbergCement’s project in Brevik, Norway.

Source: Offshore Magazine