Precast Systems Engineering, LLC received a $274,956 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084). The award will fund the development of an innovative, bio-inspired, ultra-high performance concrete foundation system to support offshore wind turbines through December 2023.
The proposed foundation system aims to provide technical and cost improvements over foundations currently used for offshore wind energy infrastructure. Key activities to be undertaken with the funding include verification of material properties, structural design of cross-sections, installation analysis in marine environments, and investigations into how the bio-inspired design improves foundation capacity. The goal is to develop a U.S.-manufactured alternative with savings of over half the cost per meter to enable wider adoption of renewable energy technologies.