Floating lidars (i.e. lidars integrated or placed on top of a floating platform or buoys) were recently introduced as a cost-effective alternative to offshore met masts. Today there are several system suppliers on the market, and five of the developed systems have already reached the ‘pre-commercial’ maturity stage. The first offshore wind projects have already been planned on the basis of floating lidar data. Despite this fast integration into current practice, not all challenges related to the application of floating lidar systems are fully identified and resolved yet. So-called gaps on the technology’s road to full maturity relate e.g. to a complete understanding of the measurement uncertainties of floating lidar measurements, detailed guidance on the system deployment or a classification of different sea climates on the expected system performance.

The workshop was planned to follow up on the activities of Phase 1 of IEA Wind Task 32 that resulted in a State-of-the-art report, and from other expert working groups as in the Carbon Trust OWA programme. In advance to the workshop, an online survey was prepared in order to investigate the participants’ view on the technology and its present maturity. In addition to this, different stakeholders were invited to present their views and to formulate the gaps they see for the technology as it is today. A technology review with presentations of six different Floating Lidar System providers completed the overview. All in all, the basis for very active and fruitful discussion was prepared. The pre-defined goal of the workshop, i.e. the formulation of a roadmap for the improvement of the technology’s maturity, was particularly realized on Day 2 of the workshop. In smaller groups the participants discussed selected gaps and identified the next steps to go for corresponding solutions.