The team at ABL Group shares the passion, vision and values for working in energy and the world’s oceans, de-risking and driving the energy transition. We are driven by the idea that the best work is born from professionalism, diligence… and fun. You know ABL Group, but do you know our team?
- Name: Lucas Méchinaud
- Role: Naval Architect
- Location: Nantes, France
- Favourite Book: La Horde du Contrevent by Alain Damasio
- Hobbies Outside of Work: D&D, Badminton, and Reading!
Lucas Méchinaud | Naval Architect, Longitude France
Can you give us a glimpse into your day-to-day life at Longitude?
On a daily basis, I model offshore operations, such as cable installation or vessel moorings, on OrcaFlex (an amazing software!) to provide our clients with operability windows.
I can also be involved in legal cases, typically with our colleagues at ABL. In those cases, subjects are less usual, and modelling can be challenging, which is thrilling!
What inspired you to join your profession?
In University, I really liked fluid mechanics. At the same time, my awareness about climate change grew, and the best way I found to marry both topics was to work in offshore renewable energy. I consequently made my internship at our sister company OWC and joined Longitude a few months later.
Can you share with us something exciting that you are currently working on?
I’m currently taking part in the MIDAS project, an ABL-funded research and development scope, which involves both Longitude and OWC. The objective is to develop an optimisation tool for the design of moorings. The idea is to have a tool that can be used for vessel moorings, but also CALM buoy or FOWT moorings, which is really exciting!
Looking ahead, what do you think is key to driving sustainability in your industry?
I think we need to focus and invest more and more in renewables. I think Longitude’s strategy to work with our sister companies and develop our skills in the detail design of offshore wind turbine foundations is great a opportunity to become leaders in this area. Even if the market is quite unstable at the moment, I think we need as a group to keep renewables as a priority.
Besides work, what do you enjoy most working within the ABL Group?
I really enjoy being part of the Nantes office. The atmosphere here is amazing, and the people are extremely benevolent. This leads to a great sense of belonging to the team, and a pleasure to come to the office every day.
