We have a business model that monetises the health of the ocean: decarbonising energy and restoring the health of the sea, with an ESG technology export industry that generates profit, jobs and taxes to finance the democratic welfare state.
By Ruben Eiras - Secretary General of Fórum Oceano
It's a scientifically proven fact and not just wishful thinking: floating offshore wind farms are real accelerators of new marine natural capital, in addition to producing electricity and (potentially) renewable hydrogen. This is the conclusion drawn by the group of researchers from the University of Minho: around 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 the sustainable industrialisation of the Portuguese sea and its sustainable project finance strategy: in other words, combining floating offshore wind farms with the emerging artificial reef sector will increase the ESG impact of the infrastructure, through the simultaneous effect of energy substitution (decarbonised cash flow), the growth of marine biodiversity (ESG impact generating growth in fish stocks) and the increase in the ocean's capacity for carbon sequestration (if the bio-design of the reefs allows macroalgae forests to emerge, the more attractive the investment will be for trading on the CO2 credit market).
In other words, this integrated approach of ocean renewables and artificial reefs maximises the application of the "Theory of Change" in use by the European Investment Fund, in terms of quantifying the link between profit performance and ESG performance: the more energy produced with floating offshore wind (sales) not only reduces the consumption of fossil sources (substitution effect with ESG impact), but also increases marine biodiversity and blue carbon capture capacity (second and third cumulative ESG impacts).
Opportunities for Portuguese companies
And now we come to the figures. According to data from the Hub Azul Dealroom platform managed by Fórum Oceano, we are dealing with two sectors that represent a giant opportunity for Portugal, of two kinds: the entrepreneurial market value of the ocean renewable energy sector is already 6.9 billion euros, and is in a pre-commercial phase; the emerging and "early stage" sub-sector of artificial reefs and foundations for offshore wind turbines, in the Environmental Restoration category, with only 3 startups identified, already has a nice entrepreneurial market value of 185 million euros.
In addition, according to the European Commission's Blue Invest Report 2023, the trend is for investors to increase their exposure to these two sectors over the next three years, with ocean renewable energies being the second sector, out of a total of 10 sectors, that will attract the most capital.
But which industrial value chain in these sectors should Portugal focus on? In the artificial reef sector, since Portugal has strong companies in civil construction and maritime engineering, it still has time to position itself for full control of the value chain.
In the ocean renewable energy sector, the opportunities for positioning are more diverse, but also much more complex to choose from. Analysing the data from the Hub Azul Dealroom platform, in addition to the obvious production of offshore wind components and platforms, there are three other niches that still have an apparent place: digital services (artificial intelligence and big data) and robotics for the operational management of floating wind farms; technological optimisation of maintenance vessels for offshore wind farms; foundations for offshore wind farms that regenerate the marine ecosystem.
With the auction of floating offshore wind farms on the horizon, the transformative impact of this opportunity is clear for Portugal - we have a business model that monetises the health of the ocean: decarbonising energy and restoring the health of the sea, with an ESG technology export industry that generates profit, jobs and taxes to fund the democratic welfare 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