How Louisiana’s Morrison is Bringing Aikido’s Floating Wind Technology to Reality

In December of last year, offshore wind history was made at the Port of Pascagoula. It should come as no surprise that a Louisiana company was at the heart of this moment. For the last three years, Aikido Technologies has developed a floating wind platform with the support of the Fellows Program by Breakthrough Energy. The program aims to accelerate early-stage climate innovation to help the world reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

In April 2024, Aikido announced a partnership with Morrison Energy, a familiar name in Louisiana, for the fabrication of the Aikido One pilot project, a quarter-scale 100kW floating wind platform.

Sam Kanner, CEO of Aikido, explains that bringing the project to the Gulf Coast was an obvious choice since it is the primary center for offshore construction in the US. Kelly Reeves from Morrison stated, “Aikido is a forward-thinking company offering something truly unique to the market. We take pride in collaborating with companies like Aikido, where we can leverage our expertise and skills to help bring their vision to life.”

Well-versed in offshore work, Morrison is an energy service company delivering projects in the oil and gas and renewable industries for the past 38 years, making them well-suited to fabricate Aikido One. “The Gulf is the natural epicenter for the offshore wind supply chain and Morrison Energy has a long track record of delivering projects to conventional offshore industries. We established a great relationship from the beginning and were able to work with them on many of the challenges that naturally arose from such an innovative project,” Sam Kanner commented.

Less than nine months after the announcement, or as Kanner calls it, “at startup speed,” the newly constructed structure was towed to the Port of Pascagoula for the first demonstration of the technology. The SEWC Louisiana team stood on the docks alongside workers from Aikido and Morrison watching the structure unfold. In less than two hours, the platform was fully expanded and the SEWC Team, along with other spectators, had the opportunity to walk the structure after a short boat trip.

Images 1-3: View of Aikido One pilot project unfolding from dock; Image 4: View of fully expanded platform from boat.

The platform appears significantly larger when standing on it than when viewed from the deck. At only a quarter size of the final structure, it is easy to forget that the platform is floating with how sturdy it feels to walk on. “Our technical advisors, who come from 25+ years of experience at Shell, are impressed by the speed at which we can safely execute and deliver,” stated Kanner. “Offshore wind is a necessary part of the puzzle to decarbonize electricity grids around the world. More importantly, it can provide energy independence and resilience for communities across the U.S.”

Before completing the Aikido One pilot project, the company announced an over-subscribed $4 million seed financing. Those funds will be used for an offshore operational pilot, Aikido Two Project.  

If you’re interested in learning more about offshore wind in the Gulf and throughout the Southeast, read here.