BW Ideol and NGE have announced an exclusive partnership to develop a large-scale production line for floating foundations to support the deployment of offshore wind power in the Mediterranean.
Under the agreement, the two companies will share equal ownership in the BW Ideol-initiated Fos3F project, which aims to establish a dedicated fabrication facility for floating wind foundations in Fos-sur-Mer, France.
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The planned facility, located on the DEOS platform at the Grand Port Maritime de Marseille, is designed to manufacture around 30 floating foundations each year, providing an estimated annual capacity of 500MW.
BW Ideol and NGE have also jointly submitted a bid to the Grand Port Maritime de Marseille for the allocation of 30 hectares of land, including 400 linear metres of usable quay, to support this production line.
The development of the Fos3F project follows the confirmation of €126m ($143m) in public funding last year. It comprises a grant of up to €74m from the EU’s Innovation Fund and a potential tax credit of up to €52m under France’s C3IV green industry investment scheme.
BW Ideol brings experience as a designer of floating offshore wind solutions, including its Damping Pool technology.
NGE offers expertise in civil engineering and large-scale infrastructure delivery.
The partnership is timed to coincide with the launch of France’s AO10 tender, which has increased the country’s planned floating wind development to more than 5GW, with 3.7GW located on the Mediterranean coast.
The partners anticipate the supply of more than 200 floating foundations between 2030 and 2037, contributing to the creation of around 1,300 direct jobs in Fos-sur-Mer.
BW Ideol president Paul de la Guérivière said: “With NGE, we are taking a decisive step: the transition to industrial scale for French floating offshore wind.
“This partnership brings to life, in Fos-sur-Mer, the creation of a new industrial sector for the serial fabrication of floating foundations, at a time when the State is launching AO10, the largest tender ever undertaken for offshore wind.”
Both BW Ideol and NGE signed an agreement with Holcim in December 2025 for the supply of low-carbon concrete and other materials for the project.
