Viana do Castelo’s Gazelle Wind Power, innovator behind next-gen floating offshore wind platforms, has secured an additional €2 million from Banco Português de Fomento (BPF), Portugal’s sovereign bank. This brings total funding for its pilot project, ‘Nau Azul’, to €18.8 million.
Gazelle’s CEO, Jon Salazar, says this institutional backing is a strong signal of confidence in their floating platform’s potential to unlock offshore wind energy worldwide. Their tech promises lower costs, high stability, modular assembly, and minimal environmental impact — all while enabling local manufacturing and leveraging existing port infrastructure.
Founded in 2020, Gazelle aims to revolutionize deep-water wind energy by making it more scalable, cost-effective, and eco-friendly. The ‘Nau Azul’ project will test their platform under real offshore conditions near Aguçadoura, Portugal, a crucial step toward commercial deployment.
Teresa Fiúza, BPF’s CIO, highlights the investment’s role in accelerating Portugal’s energy transition, creating skilled jobs, and bolstering the blue economy. Indico Capital Partners’ Stephan de Moraes called the funding a key milestone toward a full-scale demo launch.
In a nutshell: Gazelle is charging ahead to make Portugal a powerhouse in clean offshore wind, tackling cost and environmental hurdles with smart engineering and strong local support.
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