Foundation Ex 2025 successfully brought the global offshore wind community together on 20 May in Bristol, demonstrating that even in challenging market conditions, our industry’s commitment to technical excellence remains unwavering. Over 200 delegates from across the international offshore wind supply chain gathered for what proved to be an exceptional day of engineering-focused discussions and collaborative problem-solving.
Why Foundation Ex 2025 Mattered
This year’s conference was a testament to the offshore wind industry’s resilience and innovation capacity. As Karl reflected:
“Foundation Ex demonstrated the offshore wind industry’s commitment to technical excellence during what are undeniably challenging times. While we’ve seen remarkable achievements on the journey to here, we cannot simply continue doing what we’ve always done.”
The event’s timing was particularly significant. With the industry facing headwinds from supply chain pressures, inflation, and evolving technical challenges as we move into deeper waters with larger turbines, Foundation Ex 2025 provided a crucial platform for the engineering community to share solutions and chart a path forward.
What Made Foundation Ex 2025 Special
Designed “for engineers by engineers,” our conference delivered exactly what our industry needed: deep technical content without the commercial noise. The day featured 16 technical presentations covering the most pressing challenges facing offshore wind foundations, from innovative design solutions to practical installation strategies.
Keynote Insights
Richard Eakin, Project Director at ScottishPower, delivered compelling insights on floating offshore wind development through his experiences with MarramWind and CampionWind projects. His presentation highlighted both the enormous economic potential and the critical technical challenges that must be addressed, while emphasising the need for consistent industry messaging to governments and policy influencers.
Dr Aggie Georgiopoulou from Ternan Energy showcased how artificial intelligence and machine learning are revolutionising seabed hazard identification, particularly in areas affected by past glaciation. Her work on boulder detection and de-risking strategies demonstrated how these technologies are not only reducing human error but also delivering significant cost savings for developers.
Christian Mørch from C2Wind presented a structured approach to bridge the gap between wind resource and metocean studies, showing how proper separation of wind sea and swell waves can have dramatic impacts on fatigue design decisions for offshore wind support structures.
Technical Innovation Spotlight
The technical presentations revealed the breadth of innovation happening across our industry. Wood Thilsted’s Z-Flange bolted connection system, developments in ultra-high-performance concrete for foundation grouting, and next-generation turbine support structure design considerations from Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy all demonstrated how engineering excellence is driving the industry forward.
Collaborative Problem-Solving
Perhaps most valuable were the six breakout sessions, which tackled critical areas including fabrication challenges, transport and installation strategies, corrosion protection systems, transitions between monopile and jacket foundations, geoscience innovations, and life extension considerations. These intimate sessions allowed for the kind of detailed technical discussions that simply aren’t possible in larger forums.
Looking Forward
Foundation Ex 2025 concluded with informal networking sessions, building on the pre-event reception held on 19 May. These connections and conversations will continue long after the conference, reinforcing the collaborative approach essential to addressing our industry’s technical challenges.
The depth of technical discussion and collaborative spirit demonstrated at Foundation Ex 2025 shows our industry is ready to innovate its way through current difficulties and emerge stronger. As we face the challenges of scaling to deeper waters with larger turbines, events like Foundation Ex provide the platform for the engineering community to share knowledge, challenge assumptions, and develop the solutions that will define the next chapter of offshore wind.
Thank You
Empire Engineering extends our sincere gratitude to all delegates, speakers, and partners who made Foundation Ex 2025 such a success. Your commitment to technical excellence and collaborative spirit exemplifies the best of our industry.
Details of future Foundation Ex events will be announced via our website and industry publications. For those interested in continuing the conversation or discussing specific offshore wind foundation engineering challenges, please contact us.
Foundation Ex is Empire Engineering’s thought leadership programme, reflecting our commitment to transparency and innovation in renewable energy through knowledge sharing and technical expertise.
