Floating wind startup Aikido Technologies announced the close of its over-subscribed $4 million Series Seed investment round. The financing was led by Azolla Ventures with participation from Propeller Ventures, Sabanci Climate Ventures, Cisco Foundation, Anthropocene Ventures and others.
Aikido said it will use this capital to advance its technology for offshore deployment, build its team and develop a commercial pipeline.
The company is currently supported by Breakthrough Energy Fellows, which is funding Aikido’s first pilot deployment. The company is currently building its inaugural Aikido One platform with its fabrication partner Morrison Energy in Harvey, Louisiana. Once completed, the company plans to demonstrate its technology in the Gulf Coast in Fall 2024.
Aikido CEO Sam Kanner said, “Floating wind must become commercialized by the end of the decade so that we can meet decarbonization targets set by pioneering offshore wind countries, including the U.S., U.K., and others in Europe and Asia. We believe that our technology suite represents a step change in reducing costs, simplifying logistics and increasing throughput of floating wind systems.”
Aikido said its platform for floating offshore wind turbines is designed to slash project costs and enable floating offshore wind projects to become economic. Key features include a) pin joints that enable serialized production of its 13 major steel components; b) a unique design that allows it to fold up during assembly, occupying 2/3 less space in a shipyard or quayside port facility; c) a fit-for-purpose, re-usable assembly structure that enables the quick placement, alignment, final assembly, and transport; and d) an upending procedure that only requires water ballast.
Matthew Nordan, General Partner at Azolla Ventures, said, “The world does not reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions without taking advantage of the extraordinary resource in offshore wind, but the high costs of incumbent technologies have limited deployments to date. We are optimistic that Aikido stands out amongst a multitude of competing concepts in its ability to dramatically reduce costs and speed up installation.”
Reece Pacheco, Partner at Propeller, said, “The Aikido team is excellent, the market is huge, and their timing is critical — unlocking the tremendous renewable energy potential of floating offshore wind. Aikido’s technology solves the most critical challenge facing the industry, how to build these massive structures in a cost-effective, time-constrained and space-efficient manner.”