FORESEA boosts 15 ocean energy developers

Illustration (Photo: Sustainable Marine Energy)

 
An €11 million EU-funded FORESEA initiative has backed 15 offshore renewable energy technologies following its second call for applications.

The awards will provide a boost to technology developers by allowing them to test their technologies on the open sea, attract further investment, and move further along the path to commercialization, FORESEA said.

FORESEA’s user selection board awarded a ‘Recommendation for Support’ to demonstration projects led by the following technology developers to test at the indicated test center:

  • Aqua Power Technologies (EMEC)
  • ASVS (SEM REV)
  • Current2Current (EMEC)
  • Dresser-Rand (EMEC)
  • Finima Innovations (EMEC)
  • FishFlow Innovations (TTC)
  • Flex Sense (SEM REV)
  • FMGC (SEM REV)
  • Oceanlinx (EMEC)
  • Scotrenewables Tidal Power (EMEC)
  • Sigma Energy (EMEC)
  • Sustainable Marine Energy (EMEC)
  • Swirl Generators (EMEC)
  • Tocardo (TTC and EMEC)

Final confirmation of support will be granted to developers upon contract with the relevant test center, according to FORESEA.

Hans van Breugel, CEO of Tocardo, said: “The FORESEA program enables Tocardo to improve the dynamic umbilical power cable for our Universal Foundation Structure (UFS), needed for power evacuation from the semi-sub UFS platform to the power cable on the sea bed.

“Deployment of systems in real life conditions will increase the project developer’s confidence and reduce the cost of capital in projects.”

To remind, the FORESEA initiative backed 10 ocean energy developers back in November 2016 following its first call. The developers received support to demonstrate their technologies at Europe’s world-leading ocean energy test facilities.

The test facilities participating in the project are EMEC (Orkney Islands, UK); SmartBay (Galway, Ireland); SEM-REV (Nantes, France); and Tidal Testing Centre (Den Oever, Netherlands).

Funding Ocean Renewable Energy through Strategic European Action (FORESEA) project is funded by the Interreg North-West Europe (NWE) program, part of the European Regional Development Fund.