The European tidal industry is at a critical stage. Successful demonstration of small-scale tidal arrays with lessons learnt for future large-scale projects is widely acknowledged as a key way to de-risk and kick-start the tidal energy industry. The DEMOTIDE project will design, build and operate a 4 x 1.5MW (6MW) turbine array at the MeyGen Phase 1B site, Pentland Firth, Scotland. The potential for build-out on the MeyGen site to 400 MW installed capacity, based on the available local high flow tidal resource, make this a site ripe for commercial exploitation. The DEMOTIDE consortium unites strong players with each of the required competencies to deliver this array. Leading technology supplier Marine Current Turbines (an Atlantis company) can rely on experience gained from operating its SeaGen tidal turbine system for several years. The participation of both MCT and Atlantis technology development teams is crucial to deliver robust, efficient turbines, fully specified to perform in challenging tidal site conditions. Effective installation plans are only possible through early involvement of an experienced marine contractor. DEME, comprising DEME Blue Energy and GeoSea, is a world leader in marine operations and owns a versatile fleet (jack-up platforms, DP, heavy-lift, barges, etc.) which can be applied to the tidal market. DEME subsidiary GeoSea will bring extensive offshore wind energy installation experience to the table. The combined involvement of DEME Blue Energy, Atlantis Resources, and French partner INNOSEA provides a strong route to exploitation of the results of DEMOTIDE across a portfolio of commercial tidal energy projects throughout Europe and abroad. Finally, local content and dissemination of the project results is ensured through involvement of Queen’s University Belfast and local contractors in Scotland for onshore works.

The recent experience with ocean wave energy have revealed issues with reliability of technical components, survivability, high development costs and risks, long time to market, as well as industrial scalability of proposed and tested technologies. However the potential of wave energy is vast, and also positive conclusions have been drawn, in particular that wave energy is generally technically feasible. Having substantial insight into successes and drawbacks in past developments and existing concepts, the promoters have identified ‘breakthrough features’ that address the above mentioned obstacles, i.e. components, systems and processes, as well as the respective IP. These breakthroughs are applied to two wave concepts, the OWC and the Symphony, under development by members of the consortium. The following main avenues have been identified: 1. Survivability breakthrough via device submergence under storm conditions; 2. O&M (operation and maintenance) breakthrough via continuous submergence and adaption of components and strategies; 3. PTO breakthrough via dielectric membrane alternatives to the “classical” electro-mechanical power take-off equipment; 4. Array breakthrough via sharing of mooring and electrical connections between nearby devices, as well as integral approach to device interaction and compact aggregates; WETFEET addressees Low-carbon Energies specific challenges by targeting a set of breakthroughs for wave energy technology, an infant clean energy technology with vast potential. The breakthrough features of WETFEET are developed and tested on the platform of two specific converter types (OWC and Symphony) with near-term commercial interest, and a large part of the results can make a general contribution to the sector, being implemented in other technologies.

Solar photovoltaic (PV) has become the world’s fastest-growing energy technology, with an annual global market surpassing for the first time in 2018 the 100 Gigawatt (GW) level and cumulative capacity of 583.5 GW in 2019. However, in order to produce large amounts of energy and to avoid increased energy transmission costs, solar power plants must be located close to the demand centres. Yet, it is a problem to require vast surfaces of land near densely populated areas where the power is consumed. This is specially a problem in Europe, which by far has the smallest average size of a solar PV plant in the world. Floating PV (FPV) plants have opened up new opportunities for facing these land restrictions. Nevertheless, this market is currently concentrated in reservoirs and lakes. Offshore and near-shore FPV systems are still in a nascent stage due to additional challenges faced by non-sheltered sea conditions: waves and winds are stronger, implying that mooring, anchoring and dynamic load capacity becomes even more critical due to the increased frequency of high wave- and wind-loads. The BOOST will address these challenges with a new FPV system partly inspired by the floating and mooring technology that has been used over 20 years in rough Norwegian waters by the fish farming industry, combined with a disruptive and patented floating hydro-elastic membrane (<1mm thickness). The hydro-elastic membrane is attached to an outer perimeter of buoyant tubing so that the floater is not dragged under by the mooring, even in strong currents, winds and waves, similar to the effect of oil on troubled water. The validation of this technology in non-sheltered sea waters lead consortium expects to reach an installed capacity of 1,750 MW for the 5 years (6.2% of the SAM), contributing to avoid CO2 emission of 4,120 kt (but each PV plant will last for at least 25 years, so the long-term impact is 5 times larger). It will generate to the consortium accumulated profits above €94m.

FLOATFARM aims to significantly advance the maturity and competitiveness of floating offshore wind (FOW) technology by increasing energy production, achieving significant cost reductions within the design and implementation phases, improving offshore wind value chain and supporting EU companies in this growing sector. Ultimately, FLOATFARM aims to decrease negative environmental impacts on marine life and to enhance the public acceptability of FOW, thereby accelerating the EU energy transition. To this end, a number of critical technologies have been identified as key catalysts. They apply to different conceptual scales, from individual floating offshore wind turbine level (Action 1) to farm level (Action 2) and environmental and socio-economic perspectives (Action 3). Innovations will be introduced into: 1) ROTOR TECHNOLOGY, where innovative rotor designs for improved energy capture will be explored in a co-design approach with innovative control techniques, improved floaters, and a groundbreaking generator concept; 2) MOORING AND ANCHORING, where shared mooring and innovative dynamic cabling will be investigated; 3) WIND FARM CONTROL, where novel control strategies will be exploited to increase the farm power density, and 4) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT MITIGATION, where marine noise emissions and impacts on marine species of FOW farms will be addressed, innovative artificial reefs will be pioneered and social acceptance will be studied. To ensure that effective solutions are pursued and TRL5 can be achieved, FLOATFARM adopts a holistic approach that combines innovative designs, experimental demonstration at laboratory scale, modelling with a suite of beyond state-of-the-art numerical tools, and demonstration in a unique open-sea laboratory, where a new 1:7 scale 15MW FOWT will be tested in combination with novel floaters, moorings and controls, ensuring systematic assessment and validation that are thus far unprecedented in FOWT research.

Efficient and effective use of offshore renewables is pivotal in the transition of the EU to become a net-zero economy in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. EU-SCORES will unlock the large-scale potential of the roll-out of offshore renewable energy in multi-source parks across different European sea basins through two highly comprehensive and impactful demonstrations: (1) An offshore solar PV system in Belgium co-located with a bottom fixed windfarm and; (2) A wave energy array in Portugal co-located with a floating wind farm. The multi-source demonstrations in EU-SCORES will showcase the benefits of a continuous power output harnessing the complementarity between wind, sun and waves as it leads to a more resilient and stable power system, higher capacity factors and a lower total cost per MWh. These aspects will also improve the business case for the production of green hydrogen within these parks. The full-scale demonstrations will prove how the increased power output and capacity installed per km2 will reduce the amount of marine space needed, thereby leaving more space for aquaculture, fisheries, shipping routes and environmentally protected zones. Additional benefits attained by co-using critical electrical infrastructures and exploring advanced operation and maintenance methodologies supported by innovative autonomous systems will further lower the costs per MWh. The involvement of major project developers and utility companies (EDP, EGP, SBE, RWE, EnBW, Eneco, OceanWinds, and Parkwind) will ensure an accelerated path towards commercialisation of these innovative parks. Altogether, through a highly competent, skilled and motivated consortium EU-SCORES will pave the way for bankable multi-source parks including wind, wave and floating solar systems across different European sea basins by 2025, thereby supporting the stability and resilience of the European energy system, while considering sustainability, local stakeholders and existing ecosystems.