Lautec has announced the market launch of ESOX, their new tool for the simulation of offshore operations. 

With ESOX, everyone can model and analyze offshore operations around the globe. Their new weather downtime tool is Excel-based and easy to use – neither a login nor a manual is needed. ESOX was developed after a decade of planning, simulating and executing offshore wind projects. 

“ESOX is free, lightweight and user-friendly. The tool is designed to be easily copied and shared, with the goal of increasing transparency across stakeholders,” Project Manager for ESOX, Guillermo Esteban, says.  

Two Functions in One 

ESOX is a combination of a sequential downtime modelling tool and a global data map, providing high-quality reanalysis metocean data.

How long does it take to install a typical offshore wind foundation? Which months are the best for blade repair? How does a project site in the North Sea compare to one in the Atlantic Ocean or the Sea of Japan? ESOX enables everyone to answer these and many more questions. The tool is designed to analyze wind capacities and weather modelling globally.

ESOX’s dataset contains 30 years of global ERA5 data, provided by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. ERA5 is the result of decades of industry-leading research in atmospheric and oceanic modelling. It is very well suited for the analysis of offshore operations.

Bringing New Markets Up To Speed

The new tool will help existing and new markets benchmark their metocean conditions with reference projects from competitive markets - thereby assisting them in understanding the costs of construction in local waters.

“The success of our company and our fight against climate change depends on the cost of offshore wind. We believe that ESOX can help drive the costs down by providing a better understanding of offshore operations in existing and new markets,” Partner at Lautec, Henrik Søgaard Iversen, says.

To increase the transparency for offshore wind at a global level, it is essential that ESOX is accessible for everyone.

Not only for industry specialists but also for the public. 

“ESOX also allows corporations, NGOs, students and governments to do their own analysis and benchmark between sites, technologies and projects,” Iversen continues.

ESOX+ for Complex Modelling 

ESOX enables project participants to do most of the analysis, which is needed in an offshore wind project, themselves.

For the more challenging, niche simulation cases, Lautec provides assistance using the advanced and flexible ESOX+ modelling tool on a consulting basis. 

Since 2015, our specialists have undertaken modelling using ESOX and ESOX+ for more than 5 GW of offshore wind capacity across North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania.

KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: Lautec