SBM Offshore recently announced that it has entered into an agreement with Microsoft to develop standardized, artificial-intelligence (AI) -powered carbon-free floating power to address the growing needs for reliable, affordable, carbon-free electricity.
The collaboration aims to accelerate the adoption of floating power-generation units to meet the growing demand for clean, reliable, and dispatchable electricity for electrification and regional grid integration, while overcoming the barriers of conventional efforts in decarbonizing industrial energy use.
“We are excited to announce this agreement with Microsoft. Together, we will be able to identify the best approach for industries to achieve firm, scalable, and investment-ready clean energy solutions,” said Olivier Icyk, SBM Offshore’s chief business officer. “SBM Offshore’s expertise in floating energy infrastructure and Microsoft’s digital intelligence expertise will boost the energy transition and will enable companies to create a more sustainable and resilient energy ecosystem.”
The collaboration plans to explore new ways to integrate cloud-based solutions, advanced analytics, and AI into floating power generation.
“Microsoft is committed to advancing sustainability solutions that enable new models of carbon-free electricity generation,” said Darryl Willis, Microsoft’s corporate vice president for energy and resources industry. “Through our collaboration with SBM Offshore, we are exploring how AI-powered technology can help optimize and scale clean energy solutions in floating power applications”.
The first phase of the collaboration is planned to focus on deploying floating gas power solutions with integrated carbon capture and storage in the UK continental shelf and the Norwegian continental shelf, taking advantage of SBM Offshore’s collaboration with Norway’s Ocean-Power. This model is also expected to serve as a blueprint for global expansion, supporting energy security and decarbonization objectives across Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Americas.