PROMISE

Establishing a common technical understanding of offshore wind monopile installation practice

The PROMISE joint industry project (JIP) addresses one of the most critical challenges in offshore wind development: safe, reliable, and predictable installation of large diameter monopile foundations.

As turbine sizes, monopile dimensions, and installation energy continue to increase, offshore wind projects face growing risks related to pile drivability, refusal, pile run (free-fall) behaviour, and other installation operations. Current installation prediction methods and acceptance criteria are often associated with significant uncertainty, variability between projects, and inconsistent interpretation across the industry.

PROMISE brings together offshore wind developers, installation contractors, consultants, and equipment manufacturers to develop a transparent, data driven, and industry aligned framework for monopile installation assessment and execution.

The challenge

Offshore wind monopile installation is increasingly exposed to:

• Uncertain drivability predictions, particularly when applying legacy Static Resistance to Driving (SRD) methods to large diameter monopiles
• Non-clear methods for defining upper and lower bound SRD definitions
• Inconsistent refusal criteria are often defined without quantified knowledge of prediction, accuracy, or uncertainty
• Pile run (free fall) risks, including “hidden” risks in transitional soils governed by drainage and rate effects
• Uncertainty around pile gripper release and load transfer, where insufficient understanding of soil resistance mobilization may affect monopile stability, installation control, and safety
• Limited industry mechanisms to systematically learn from past installation experience, despite the large volume of available driving records.

These challenges can lead to conservative designs, unplanned mitigation measures, installation delays, and increased safety and cost risks.

Objectives

The primary objective of PROMISE is to improve the reliability, transparency and industry acceptance of offshore monopile installation predictions and decision making. This will be achieved by:

• Establishing a common technical understanding of offshore monopile installation practice, risks, and applicable standards
• Creating a high quality, traceable database of offshore wind monopile driving records
• Quantifying the accuracy, bias, and limitations of existing SRD methodologies when applied to large diameter monopiles
• Developing a new SRD methodology, calibrated specifically for offshore wind foundations with a clear definition of best estimate, lower bound, and upper bound profiles
• Establishing industry aligned guidance on refusal criteria and pile runs risk identification, assessment, and mitigation
• The overall aim is to reduce installation risk and unnecessary conservatism while maintaining safety and technical robustness.

Approach and proposed solution

PROMISE is structured as a data driven, pre competitive collaboration. The JIP will:

• Review existing standards, guidelines, and current industry practice related to monopile installation
• Build and curate a quality controlled installation database, supported by consistent metadata, QA/QC processes, and secure digital solutions
• Use offshore wind driving records as the primary evidence base to benchmark existing driveability methods and develop improved prediction models
• Translate technical findings into practical, implementable guidance for installation planning, refusal management, and pile run risk control
• Optional work packages allow extension of the framework to vibro driving, drill and grouted piles, and specific challenging soil types where sufficient data are available.

Key deliverables

PROMISE will deliver:

• Technical work package reports covering standards review, state of practice, installation risks, database development, SRD evaluation and method development
• A curated offshore wind monopile driving records database, accessible to JIP participants
• A new PROMISE JIP SRD methodology for soils, including validation results, applicability limits and implementation guidance
• Industry aligned guidance documents for refusal criteria and pile run risk assessment and mitigation, including screening checklists and decision frameworks
• A final synthesis report, forming the basis for potential future recommended practices
• A public summary of key outcomes, available to subscribers to DNV standards.

Benefits of joining PROMISE

By joining PROMISE, participants will:

• Gain access to a unique shared evidence base built from real offshore wind installation data
• Influence the development of future proof drivability methods and installation guidance
• Reduce technical, safety, and commercial risk through improved prediction accuracy and clearer decision criteria
• Share cost and effort through a collaborative, industry wide approach to common challenges
• Contribute to shaping future best practice for offshore monopile installation.

Project details

Duration: 2026-2028