We have a business model that monetizes the health of the ocean: decarbonize energy and restore the health of the sea, with an exporting industry of ESG technology generating profit, employment and taxes for the financing of the democratic social state.
By Ruben Eiras – Secretary General of the Ocean Forum
It is a scientifically proven fact and not just “wishful thinking”: floating offshore wind are real accelerators of new marine natural capital, in addition to the production of electricity and (potentially) renewable hydrogen. This is the conclusion that the group of researchers at the University of Minho withdrew from the research: about 50 new species use mooring and floating infrastructures to shelter and multiply.
This finding is very important, not only because it proves the positive ESG impact of the emerging ocean renewable energy industry, but also because it opens up new prospects for sustainable industrialization of the Portuguese sea and its “project Finance” strategy sustainable: that is, combining floating offshore wind with the emerging sector of artificial reefs will increase the ESG impact of infrastructure, through the simultaneous effect of energy substitution (decarbonized cash-flow), of the growth of marine biodiversity (ESG impact generates the growth of fishing stocks) and the increase of the ocean capacity of carbon sequestration (if the reef bio-design allows the emergence of macroalgae forests, more attractive will be the investment for trading in the CO2 credit market).
In other words, with this integrated approach to ocean renewables and artificial reefs, the application of the “Theory of Change” in use by the European Investment Fund is maximized with regard to the quantification of the link between profit performance related to ESG performance: The more energy produced with floating offshore wind (sales) will not only decrease the consumption of fossil sources (substitution effect with ESG impact), but also increase marine biodiversity and the ability to capture blue carbon (second and third cumulative ESG impacts).
The opportunities for Portuguese companies
And now to numbers. According to data from the Blue Hub Dealroom platform managed by Fórum Oceano, we are dealing with two sectors that represent a giant opportunity for Portugal, of two natures: the business market value of the ocean renewable energy sector is already 6,9 billion euros, and is in a pre-commercial phase; the emerging sub-sector and “Early Stage” of artificial reefs and foundations for offshore wind, in the category of Environmental Restoration, with only 3 startups identified, already have the friendly business market value of 185 million euros.
In addition, according to the European Commission’s Blue Invest Report 2023, the trend is to increase the exposure of investors in these two sectors over the next 3 years, with the oceanic renewable energy being the second, in a total of 10 rows, which will attract more capital.
But what industrial value chain should Portugal bet on? In the artificial reefs sector, with the country having strong companies in civil construction and maritime-port engineering, it will still be in time to position itself for an integral domain of the value chain.
In the field of ocean renewable energies, the positioning opportunities are more diverse, but also with much greater complexity in the choice. Analyzing data from the Azul Dealroom Hub platform, in addition to the obvious production of offshore wind components and platforms, there are three other niches still with apparent space: digital services (artificial intelligence and big data) and robotics for the operational management of floating wind farms; technological optimization of maintenance operations vessels for offshore wind; foundations for offshore wind that regenerate the marine ecosystem.
With the auction of floating offshore wind on the horizon, the transformative impact of this opportunity is clear to Portugal – we have a business model that monetizes the health of the ocean: decarbonising energy and restoring the health of the sea, with an industry exporting ESG technology generating profit, employment and taxes for the financing of the democratic social state.
Article published in Jornal de Negócios: https://www.jornaldenegocios.pt/opiniao/colunistas/ruben-eiras/detalhe/monetizar-a-saude-do-oceano-com-as-eolicas-offshore