The Welsh Government has committed £8 million to Marine Power Systems (MPS) to speed up the commercialisation of its deep-water offshore wind platform, in a move seen as a strategic boost for the UK’s floating wind ambitions.
The funding marks a key step in MPS’s transition from technology development to industrial-scale production. The Swansea-based firm has spent more than a decade designing floating systems capable of operating in waters deeper than 60 metres – where around 80% of the world’s offshore wind potential remains untapped.
At the centre of that effort is PelaFlex, a modular floating platform engineered to simplify fabrication and deployment while reducing cost. The system aims to make large-scale wind farms viable in deep waters between 60 and 100m in depth, a frontier long constrained by the technical and economic limits of fixed-bottom turbines.
The government described the investment as part of its wider Offshore Wind Action Plan, which seeks to anchor a supply chain for floating wind in Wales. “Backing companies like Marine Power Systems strengthens our energy, industrial and environmental goals,” said Rebecca Evans, Cabinet Secretary for Energy.
For MPS, the funding supports plans to establish UK manufacturing and assembly capacity and take PelaFlex to market. Chief executive Dr Gareth Stockman said the investment would help “move deep-water offshore wind from innovation into commercial reality” while positioning Wales as a hub for future deployment.
As the global shift toward floating wind accelerates, the Welsh investment underscores the strategic importance of deep-water innovation – not just for decarbonisation, but for regional industrial growth.
