Deep Anchor Solutions enables faster, cheaper deployment of floating renewables with a compact anchor that eliminates the need for large vessels, port upgrades, and noisy hammer-driving. Designed for local manufacturing and transport, the system reduces cost, carbon, and complexity—making offshore energy viable in new and remote markets worldwide.
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Junho Lee
Junho Lee is the Principal Geotechnical Engineer of Deep Anchor Solutions, a startup developing innovative anchoring systems for floating renewables and offshore infrastructure. Lee holds a Ph.D. in geotechnical engineering from Texas A&M University and has over 15 years of experience in offshore foundation design and anchoring technologies. Before founding Deep Anchor Solutions, he led R&D and commercialization efforts across academia and industry to advance offshore energy infrastructure.
TECHNOLOGY
Critical Need
Floating renewable projects face deployment barriers due to traditional anchors like suction caissons, which are bulky, expensive, and require specialized vessels and upgraded ports. These anchors slow progress, raise costs, and limit project viability in new or infrastructure-limited regions. As demand grows, there is a critical need for scalable, low-impact alternatives. Deep Anchor Solutions addresses this bottleneck with a compact, deeply embedded ring anchor that installs using existing installation equipment, works across any soil and mooring types, and avoids heavy infrastructure—while enabling local fabrication, inland transport, and efficient anchor logistics. Its deep embedment also enhances reliability and reduces decommissioning time and cost.
Technology Vision
Deep Anchor Solutions is developing the Deeply Embedded Ring Anchor (DERA), a compact offshore anchoring system that transforms how floating infrastructure connects to the seabed. DERA installs using low-noise, low-impact methods such as suction or vibro-driving—eliminating the need for pile-driving or heavy-lift vessels. Its deeply embedded design accesses stronger soils with less material, enhancing performance while reducing size. The system supports single- to multi-line mooring, works across diverse seabed conditions, and can be fabricated locally and transported easily. By simplifying logistics and lowering environmental impact, DERA enables faster, cheaper, and more flexible deployment of floating renewable energy systems worldwide.
Potential for Impact
At scale, DERA can accelerate the deployment of floating renewables by removing infrastructure bottlenecks that slow or prevent offshore development. By eliminating the need for port upgrades, large vessels, and noisy hammer-driving, it opens access to deeper, remote, or infrastructure-limited regions. This enables more equitable access to clean energy, local job creation through local manufacturing, and faster permitting through reduced environmental impact. Over time, DERA could anchor gigawatts of offshore wind, solar, and marine systems, supporting global climate goals. Its adoption would lower lifecycle emissions, expand market access, and help establish a new global standard for floating infrastructure foundations.
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Deep Anchor Solutions