Baker Hughes Offshore Wind Initiatives for 2025: Key Projects, Strategies and Partnerships

Baker Hughes: Engineering the Next Wave in Offshore Wind Enablement

From Adaptation to Acquisition: A Strategic Pivot in Offshore Wind

Between 2021 and 2024, Baker Hughes’ strategy for offshore wind was characterized by adaptation and collaboration. The company leveraged its deep expertise in oil and gas, methodically applying existing technologies to the renewables sector. This period saw the development of key enabling components, such as Bently Nevada’s condition monitoring for turbines and the redesign of MECON subsea connectors for floating wind. Partnerships were foundational, focusing on integrating technologies with specialists like Mocean Energy for wave power and Ocean Installer for subsea engineering. The approach was incremental, building a portfolio of solutions by adapting what the company already did best—a low-risk entry into a high-growth market.

The period from January 2025 onward marks a significant inflection point, signaling a shift from adaptation to strategic acquisition and large-scale market positioning. The explicit statement of intent to become a tier 2 or 3 supplier of subsea electrical connectors crystallized the company’s role. This was immediately followed by the transformative $13.6 billion agreement to acquire Chart Industries. This move vaulted Baker Hughes beyond component supply into the broader ecosystem of clean energy infrastructure, adding critical capabilities in LNG, hydrogen, and carbon capture—technologies that are essential for grid stability and energy storage for intermittent renewables like offshore wind. This pivot demonstrates that isolated technology plays are no longer sufficient; the new opportunity lies in providing integrated, large-scale systems that support the entire clean energy value chain, from generation to storage and transport.

Strategic Capital Allocation: Building an Integrated Energy Future

Baker Hughes’ investment and acquisition activity reveals a clear narrative of building comprehensive capabilities for the energy transition, with direct and indirect benefits for the offshore wind sector. Initial investments focused on enhancing digital and component-level technology, while the most recent acquisition signals a move to capture a larger piece of the clean energy infrastructure market.

Table: Baker Hughes Strategic Investments & Acquisitions

A Network of Alliances: Weaving a Global Offshore Energy Web

Partnerships have been central to Baker Hughes’ strategy, evolving from targeted technical collaborations to broad, region-focused alliances. This network approach allows the company to integrate its core offerings with specialized players, de-risking entry into new segments and accelerating market access. The recent MoUs with major energy players like Petronas signify a move toward shaping entire regional energy transition roadmaps.

Table: Baker Hughes Strategic Partnerships

From North Sea Roots to a Global Footprint

Between 2021 and 2024, Baker Hughes’ offshore renewable activities were geographically concentrated in the North Sea region, a global hub for offshore wind innovation. Partnerships with UK-based Mocean Energy and Verlume, collaboration with Norwegian industry via the Norsk Industri report, and work for Equinor underscored a focus on this mature market. This was a logical starting point, allowing the company to test and refine its adapted oil and gas technologies in a region with significant offshore wind activity and established subsea infrastructure.

Beginning in 2025, the geographic aperture has widened significantly. The MoU with Petronas signals a major push into the Asia-Pacific, targeting Malaysia as a potential hub for energy transition technologies. This is a strategic move to capture growth in a region poised for a rapid build-out of renewable energy. Simultaneously, contracts with Petrobras and Brava Energia in Brazil, while for traditional oil and gas services, demonstrate deep operational engagement in another key emerging offshore energy market. This expansion from a European core to a global presence in Asia-Pacific and Latin America indicates the company’s strategy is maturing from technology proving to mainstream global deployment, following the geographic expansion of the offshore energy industry itself.

A Journey from Components to Commercial Systems

The technological maturity of Baker Hughes’ offshore wind offerings has advanced from discrete components to integrated systems. In the 2021-2024 period, the focus was on adapting and proving individual technologies. This included commercial offerings like Bently Nevada’s condition monitoring and the deployment of a 132 kV dry termination for Equinor’s Åsgard project, validating a key grid connection component. Other technologies were in earlier stages, such as the redesign of MECON connectors specifically for floating wind and the Renewables for Subsea Power (RSP) project, a $2.4 million demonstration of a new power paradigm. This period was about establishing technical credibility piece by piece.

The data from 2025 shows a decisive shift towards commercializing and scaling integrated solutions. The explicit plan to become a tier 2 or 3 supplier for subsea electrical connectors moves this technology from development to a core commercial offering. The acquisition of Chart Industries is the most significant validation point, as it brings a portfolio of commercially mature LNG, hydrogen, and carbon capture technologies under the Baker Hughes umbrella. This is no longer about pilots or demos; it’s about acquiring scaled, commercial technologies to build out a complete systems-level offering. The focus has evolved from asking “can our tech work for wind?” to “how can we build the entire enabling infrastructure around wind?”

SWOT Analysis: Baker Hughes’ Evolving Position in Offshore Wind

Table: SWOT Analysis of Baker Hughes in Offshore Wind Enablement

A Year of Integration and Execution Ahead

The most recent data signals that the coming year for Baker Hughes will be defined by integration and execution. The foundational work of adapting technology and forming initial partnerships is complete. The key signal to watch is the execution following the $13.6 billion acquisition of Chart Industries. The market should expect to see the first announcements of integrated projects that combine Baker Hughes’ subsea expertise with Chart’s LNG and hydrogen capabilities, likely targeting offshore wind projects that require co-located hydrogen production or LNG for grid firming.

Secondly, the partnership with Petronas is a critical indicator of the company’s global ambitions. Progress on this MoU, particularly any concrete project announcements or facility expansions in Malaysia, will be the primary validation of its Asia-Pacific strategy. What appears to be losing steam is the piecemeal approach of adapting one-off products. The strategy has clearly scaled up. Market actors should pay close attention to announcements of large-scale, system-level solutions rather than incremental product enhancements. The focus has shifted from components to systems, and from the North Sea to the world.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the main change in Baker Hughes’ offshore wind strategy around 2025?
The main change was a strategic pivot from adaptation to acquisition. Before 2025, the company focused on adapting its existing oil and gas technologies for the renewables sector. From 2025 onward, it shifted to a more aggressive strategy of strategic acquisitions, like the $13.6 billion deal for Chart Industries, to position itself as a provider of large-scale, integrated systems for the entire clean energy value chain.

Why did Baker Hughes acquire Chart Industries, and how does that relate to offshore wind?
Baker Hughes acquired Chart Industries to expand its capabilities into LNG, hydrogen, and carbon capture. These are considered crucial enabling technologies for offshore wind because they address the challenge of intermittency by providing solutions for energy storage and transport, which helps ensure grid stability.

What does it mean that Baker Hughes aims to be a “tier 2 or 3 supplier”?
By positioning itself as a tier 2 or 3 supplier, Baker Hughes is choosing to focus on providing specific components and sub-systems, such as subsea electrical connectors, rather than competing directly with Tier 1 original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) who build the primary wind turbines. This strategy leverages their core strengths in subsea engineering to capture a specific, profitable niche in the value chain.

How has Baker Hughes’ geographic focus for offshore renewables evolved?
Initially, between 2021 and 2024, the company’s activities were concentrated in the mature North Sea market. Starting in 2025, its focus widened significantly to a global footprint. This is demonstrated by a major push into the Asia-Pacific region through an MoU with Petronas and continued operational engagement in Latin America with contracts in Brazil.

What are the key signals to watch for in Baker Hughes’ strategy in the next year?
According to the analysis, the key signals to watch are twofold. First is the integration of Chart Industries, specifically looking for announcements of integrated projects that combine Baker Hughes’ subsea expertise with Chart’s LNG/hydrogen capabilities. Second is the execution of its global expansion, particularly any concrete project announcements resulting from the MoU with Petronas in the Asia-Pacific region.

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