Business Models Inc. has recently embarked on a journey with MIDO Innovations to develop a sustainable solution for building wind farms. MIDO Innovations is the commercial enterprise of Wedge Global, a research and engineering firm responsible for developing FLORA, an innovative solution that's shaping the future of offshore wind farms.
With our world transitioning to clean and green energy, wind turbines are now more important than ever before. And since most of the planet is covered by seas and oceans, we build these wind farms offshore. The downside, however, is that once these wind farms are set up, it is quite a challenge to deconstruct and move them. That is why it is crucial that these farms are planned and developed without compromising the ecosystem and that they meet the requirements of the EU Nature Directives.
Offshore wind energy is the go-to source of renewable energy, but it comes with its own set of challenges. From environmental limitations to technical hurdles, developing sophisticated wind parks is not a simple task. Traditional ways of working often fail to provide the comprehensive data necessary for informed, sustainable decision-making, and often lead to costly setbacks.
One of the many (environmental) challenges is the protection of wildlife and not disturbing the natural habitat of birds in the area. At sea, traditional bird monitoring is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Maritime researchers have long been bound to the deck of a ship, scanning the seas with their binoculars, always at the mercy of the weather. If the waves pick up or the fog rolls in, the critical work of monitoring comes to a standstill. This is the legacy of outdated systems—while reliable under clear skies and on calm seas, they fail when conditions are less than perfect, leading to gaps in data and missed opportunities for informed conversations with the people back on the shore. With the introduction of a new system: FLORA 1, this is all about to change.
Enter FLORA 1: an autonomous, multi-use platform that generates its energy from ocean waves while bringing together an array of cutting-edge mapping technologies like Max©, one of the best avian radars in the world, using LiDAR and sonar technology. This series of ocean sensing services is revolutionizing how we gather data during all stages of the development of wind parks. No longer at the mercy of unstable weather conditions, FLORA 1 steadily offers continuous, real-time data, ensuring that during the development of these wind farms, no single flap of a wing goes unnoticed.
FLORA’s strength is already being put to the test in the waters of the Netherlands as part of the Ecowende offshore wind park. Diving deeper into ecological commitment, Ecowende stands up as the torchbearer for a new age of renewable energy. With the promise to build the most ecological friendly wind farm to date, Ecowende is setting a bold example. Their mission is about harnessing the wind with a relentless dedication to biodiversity. They are shaping a future where offshore wind expansion goes hand in hand with nature conservation, propelling the Netherlands and the world towards a greener tomorrow. With this nature-inclusive approach to the development of wind parks, they are taking the lead in the industry and setting a new standard.
The journey with MIDO Innovations is setting out to sail new seas, with ambitions that stretch far beyond Ecowende. The objective is crystal clear: to broadly deploy FLORA 1 and foster the creation of ecologically adapted wind parks on a global scale. In this endeavour, Business Models Inc. has been instrumental. We have devised a clear-cut path to articulate and boost the value that FLORA 1 delivers, along with a viable go-to-market strategy to attract paying customers.
We began by mapping out the market terrain and collaborating with MIDO to dissect their value chain. Through this process of co-creation, we managed to illuminate key stakeholders, clarify their roles, challenges, and the jobs-to-be-done—thereby pinpointing the greatest needs and opportunities for engagement with impact.
With our playing field defined, we turned to crafting compelling value propositions. These narratives transcended FLORA's technical strengths, capturing the essence of its value within the stakeholder ecosystem. Through iterative validation with potential customers, their propositions evolved. With each iteration we sharpened the value that FLORA promises.
As we continued, our sights were set on careful deployment. We worked with the 'partnership journey'—a bespoke go-to-market approach that connects engagement with the right allies. This systematic path is not just about presenting the value of the product but also about understanding and navigating the complex stakeholder landscape. It's about aligning FLORA with the right partners to create long-lasting value.
