Octopus will enter France's offshore wind market, in new joint venture between Octopus and Skyborn.

The French government has selected the partnership to apply in next year's offshore wind tender round, the first offshore wind tender Octopus will enter globally, and on the tailcoats of its $2bn in offshore wind investment in the last two years alone.

The French government’s decision follows a pre-qualification process to choose companies to enter its ninth offshore wind tender round. Winners are expected to be announced in late 2025.

Octopus has partnered with the experienced offshore wind developer and operator Skyborn, that successfully commissioned the 500MW Fécamp wind farm in France earlier this year. The company also has another offshore wind project under construction in the country.

The move marks Octopus’ first foray into early-stage offshore wind tenders globally, as it expands its footprint in the sector. Octopus started investing in offshore wind farms in 2022 and has since backed six wind farms across the UK, Netherlands and Germany.

Last year the company launched its Offshore Wind Fund, Vector, to rapidly scale up technology. Through this fund, it invested in Ocergy that has operations in France and is innovating in the floating offshore wind space.

With around 1GW of installed capacity, France’s offshore wind market is still relatively small, however the French government is targeting 18GW by 2035 and 45GW by 2050.

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