Yantai CIMC Raffles Shipyard, a marine equipment and offshore engineering company based in Yantai, Shandong province, China, has recently completed what it claims is the world’s first bamboo-based offshore floating PV platform.
The 100 kW Jilin No. 2 platform was jointly developed by the CIMC Ocean Engineering Institute, China Forestry Group Corporation and Beijing Forestry University. It is being deployed at CIMC’s offshore solar demonstration base in Yantai, where it will supply electricity to a hydrogen, ammonia and methanol demonstration project.
The platform incorporates third-generation “bamboo-wound” tubes and Sea Bamboo Pipe, a prestressed, fiber-reinforced wood-bamboo composite designed to combine high mechanical strength with low weight and corrosion resistance. The developers said the materials are suited to offshore applications, where structures are exposed to seawater and harsh marine conditions.
The bamboo-based design is intended to reduce the platform’s environmental footprint compared with conventional steel or high-density polyethylene (HDPE) floating structures, while providing the structural performance required for offshore PV applications.
Jilin No. 2 builds on the 10 kW Jilin No. 1 experimental platform commissioned in 2023, increasing installed PV capacity tenfold while expanding the platform’s dimensions and load-bearing area. The earlier prototype measured 7 m x 7 m and weighed about 4 tons. It underwent towing, offshore installation and field testing at CIMC’s offshore PV test base in Yantai.
The developers said Jilin No. 2 represents a shift from small-scale testing toward industrial production of bamboo-based marine components. The project partners plan to develop a megawatt-scale pilot and larger floating PV arrays, while working on material standards, product certification and engineering specifications. They are also exploring the use of the composites in marine and shipboard piping, alongside international standardization and overseas commercialization.
“The completion of Jilin No. 2 marks a significant step for CIMC Raffles in the research, development, manufacturing and engineering application of green materials for offshore projects,” the company said. It added that the project could provide a replicable and scalable approach to offshore PV deployment, while supporting the development of marine renewable energy systems and China’s carbon-peaking and carbon-neutrality targets..
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