Viana do Castelo-based Gazelle Wind Power, the developer of a next-generation floating offshore wind platform technology, has secured an additional €2 million investment from Banco Português de Fomento, Portugal’s Sovereign Bank.
The funding was brough about through the Deal-by-Deal Co-investment Programme, bringing the total investment raised for its ‘Nau Azul’ pilot project to €18.8 million. Investors like Teresa Fiúza (BPF CIO) and Stephan de Moraes (Co-founder, Indico Capital Partners) continue backing Gazelle’s mission.
“The support of a respected institutional investor like Banco Português de Fomento is a strong vote of confidence in our floating wind platform and its potential to unlock offshore wind globally,” said Jon Salazar, CEO of Gazelle Wind Power. “This investment strengthens Gazelle Wind Power Portugal’s position as a strategic player in the renewable energy sector. With the Nau Azul project, we’re focused on validating our technology and demonstrating a cost-competitive solution that can scale for larger deployments.”
Founded in 2020, Gazelle Wind Power is focused on the development of new-generation floating platforms for offshore wind energy, whose mission is to make wind energy production in deep waters more viable, accessible, and with less environmental impact on marine ecosystems.
Gazelle’s solution looks to become the benchmark for the industry with a design that is targeted to lower costs, enable local content, utilise pre-existing port infrastructure, and incorporate shipbuilding construction with modular assembly. The floating platform reportedly offers high stability and easy transport, installation, and maintenance while preserving fragile marine environments.
This new investment will allow Gazelle to strengthen its position as a strategic player in the global renewable energy landscape, reinforce its operational structure, expand its technical team, and move ahead with the construction of the ‘Nau Azul’ pilot project in Viana do Castelo.
‘Nau Azul’ is a demonstration project that will allow Gazelle to test their advanced wind floating platforms in real offshore conditions near Aguçadoura, Portugal. According to Gazelle, this project represents a significant advancement in offshore wind energy technology, demonstrating how a new generation of floating platforms can make renewable energy more cost-effective and scalable.
For Teresa Fiúza, Chief Investment Officer of BPF: “This investment reinforces our commitment to sustainable technological solutions with high economic impact. By supporting Gazelle Wind Power, we contribute to accelerating the energy transition in Portugal and also to strengthening our country’s positioning as a hub for innovation in clean energy, contributing to the creation of qualified jobs and the sustainable development of the blue economy.”
Gazelle’s next generation floating offshore wind platform reportedly addresses critical industry challenges like high mass production and installation costs, complex supply chain logistics, limited suitable installation sites, reducing the Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) whilst mitigating the environmental impact of traditional platforms on marine ecosystems.
Stephan de Moraes, Co-Founder and Managing General Partner at Indico Capital Partners added: “Gazelle is progressing in its mission to launch Nau Azul, a full-scale demo at sea. This investment from BPF takes the company closer to being fully funded to execute the launch. We look forward to seeing it succeed.”