Operated by Eoliennes Flottantes du Golfe du Lion (EFGL) – a joint venture between Ocean Winds and Banque des Territoires – the project marks the first floating offshore wind development in the Occitanie region and represents a significant step in integrating marine environmental technologies into the renewable energy supply chain.
BIO-UV Group has completed the first commercial deployment of its containerised BIO-SEA ballast water treatment system (BWTS) at Port-la-Nouvelle in southern France, supporting the installation of the pioneering EFGL floating offshore wind project in the Mediterranean.
BIO-UV’s containerised system treated the water deballasted from three floating wind turbine platforms – each comprising three floaters arranged in a triangular structure – prior to their deployment offshore.
The deployment was enabled by a rental agreement signed with Euroports in May 2025, allowing the port operator to provide compliant deballasting services, including water treatment, to EFGL during the assembly and installation phase. The first platform arrived from Fos-sur-Mer near Marseille in early July, followed by the second in mid-July and the final unit in August. Over roughly two months, BIO-UV successfully treated the ballast water of all three platforms in full compliance with IMO D-2 standards and local environmental regulations, before safely discharging it back into the port basin.
“This project is an important milestone for BIO-UV Group. It is the first time our containerised ballast water treatment technology has been deployed commercially in support of the offshore renewable energy sector, demonstrating not only the performance and reliability of our UV-based solution but also its versatility in new marine applications beyond conventional shipboard use,” has stated Maxime Dedeurwaerder, Solutions Business Unit Director at BIO-UV Group.
The 20-foot containerised BIO-SEA unit, developed and validated during the EU-funded ELBE R&D programme in 2024, provides a modular and mobile solution for treating ballast water during the construction and deployment of floating wind platforms. Unlike conventional onboard systems, the unit can be positioned quayside, treating water from platform tanks prior to discharge, with all treated effluent managed locally to prevent the spread of invasive aquatic species.
“Protecting marine biodiversity is critical to the sustainable growth of offshore wind. By ensuring ballast water is treated before it is released, we help prevent the transfer of non-indigenous species, supporting the ecological integrity of coastal waters as new renewable infrastructure is installed,” has commented Dominique Moniot, Business Development Director at OCEAN WINDS France.
The EFGL project features three 10MW turbines located off the coast of Leucate–Le Barcarès, approximately 25km from Port-la-Nouvelle near Narbonne, marking the first pilot-scale floating wind farm in the Occitanie region. Floating offshore wind is widely recognised as a key enabler of Europe’s net-zero ambitions, opening up deep-water sites that fixed-bottom turbines cannot reach. The successful EFGL deployment underscores the increasing importance of integrated environmental management technologies in this emerging sector.
“This regional collaboration shows how innovation in water treatment can align with offshore wind and port industry challenges. BIO-UV’s system allowed us to offer a complete and compliant ballast water treatment service to our client OCEAN WINDS for the EFGL project without transporting this water by truck to permanent facilities, and without impacting the assembly planning,” has added Remy Moron, Eolic Director at Euroports-
“Offshore wind is entering a new phase where environmental protection, regulatory compliance and operational efficiency must go hand in hand. This project proves that portable ballast water treatment can play a vital role in achieving those objectives, and we look forward to building on this success as the floating wind market scales up,” has concluded Laurent Emmanuel Migeon, CEO of BIO-UV Group.