Wind Catching Systems

Wind Catching Systems is a Norwegian company developing floating offshore wind-catching technology. The company’s floating wind power plants are designed for ease of operations and maintenance, with all heavy operations performed on deck without the need for specialized vessels or cranes. All floating units are connected to an integrated substation in the “mother vessel,” which is responsible for exporting the generated power to land.

According to the company, one of its wind-catching units produces enough electricity to power approximately 80,000 European households, while five units can produce the same amount of electricity as 25 traditional turbines. While conventional turbines are limited to an output of 11–12 m/s, by using full energy at higher wind speeds combined with the multirotor effect, Windcatcher is claimed to generate 2.5x more annual energy per swept area. Furthermore, due to having 2x more swept area compared to a traditional 15 MW wind turbine, a Windcatcher unit is said to generate 5x the annual energy production. Commercial installations of Windcatchers were slated for 2027.

Key customers and partnerships

Aibel, an engineering company servicing gas, oil, and offshore wind industries acts as the main engineering contractor for Wind Catching Systems. Other partnerships formed for the development of wind-catching systems include Institute for Energy Technology, Innovation Norway, and Celsia.

Following its Series A funding round in June 2022, Wind Catching Systems and General Motors entered a strategic agreement to collaborate on technology development, project execution, offshore wind policy, and the advancement of sustainable technology applications.

In March 2024, Wind Catching Systems entered into a contractual agreement with Axess to carry out a concept engineering study of its turbine handling system.

Funding and financials

In June 2022, the company raised USD 10 million in a Series A funding round led by GM Ventures with participation from Ferd AS, North Energy, and Havfonn AS. The new funding was to be deployed toward further development and commercialization of the company’s technology.