Global cleantech company Hexicon has sold its 100% stake in the Wave Hub site off Cornwall, ending its involvement in the TwinHub floating offshore wind project after four years of ownership. The Swedish developer said it completed a sales and purchase agreement with a global maritime and offshore engineering provider, with the deal structured for a nominal £1.
The move follows a period of mounting pressure on the project. Hexicon said earlier this year that it had taken an impairment on TwinHub after inflation and supply chain costs rose, making the economics harder to defend. The project has also lost its contract for difference from the UK government, further weakening its near-term prospects.
Wave Hub was originally permitted for wave power before Hexicon acquired it in 2021 and began the lengthy process of re-permitting the site for floating offshore wind. Since early 2024, the company had been seeking a strategic partner to take the project forward, saying the aim was to bring in a new player with the capital and capability to help commercialise floating wind.
Hexicon chief executive Marcus Thor said the sale would allow the site to progress under new ownership and contribute to the wider growth of the floating offshore wind sector. A UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) spokesperson said the government remained supportive of floating wind, despite disappointment over the contract termination, pointing to what it described as the world’s largest pipeline of projects in the technology.
The sale highlights the growing gap between floating wind ambition and project execution. While the UK still sees floating offshore wind as a strategic future technology, developers continue to face high costs, supply chain constraints and uncertain revenue support.
