THeoREM - News and Events

The exploitation of tidal energy is still at a confidential stage in France. Major efforts from the entire scientific community is required in order to provide effective support to industrial tidal projects.

Centrale Nantes is proud to be one of the founding members of the OPEN-C Foundation and of our role in creating the largest European offshore testing facility, as pioneered by our SEM-REV test site.

If you are going to attend ICOE-OEE 2022 Donostia / San Sebastián, we invite you to join : Ocean DEMO & Blue-GIFT Side Event: "Deploying in European test sites. From consenting to decommissioning" 18 October - 16:00-17:30 CEST followed by a Networking drink.

As part of the CPER NEMO, the upgrade works of the Hydrodynamic and Ocean Engineering Tank took place last spring.

On 22 September 2022, LHYFE and the Sealhyfe project partners inaugurated the hydrogen production platform that is to be installed in the coming months on the Centrale Nantes offshore test site, SEM-REV. This test of hydrogen production from offshore renewable energy is a world first.

THeoREM sera présent au forum Seanergy 2022 à Nantes.

With 295 applications received, 170 projects selected and the funding of more than 600 weeks of access to the MaRINET2 consortium's test facilities, the outcomes of the MaRINET2 Transnational Access program are extremely positive. This transnational program is a major component of the MaRINET2 project (H2020-INFRAIA, 2017-2021) aimed at accelerating the development and deployment of Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) technologies.

The webinar presenting the "RESOURCECODE Marine Data Toolbox" and the associated sea state hindcast, organized on Thursday, March 10, 2022 by Ifremer and the project partners, was a great success with the participation of more than a hundred listeners from the research community and industry.

After a little more than two years of development, Ifremer, Centrale Nantes and the partners of the RESOURCECODE project (Ocean energy Era-Net Cofund project) are launching the "RESOURCECODE Marine Data Toolbox". A presentation webinar will be held on 10 March 2022 from 11:00 to 12:30 (CET) [10AM - 11.30AM GMT].

The French Ministry for Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MESRI) announced on 21 October 2021 the inclusion of THeoREM on the 2021 National Roadmap for Research Infrastructures. This roadmap was published on 08 March 2022.

Nantes University and Stereolux are joining forces for the 6th consecutive year for the "Nuit Blanche des Chercheurs". This evening event on 27 January, from 6pm onwards, is designed for the public to come and meet researchers. With a broad programme for all tastes, everyone can take part.

This first, publicly available, environmental impact statement presents the work carried out, the observations and the results obtained on the SEM-REV offshore site, which is run by Centrale Nantes and the CNRS, on the Floatgen floating wind turbine. This 2 MW demonstrator, whose floating platform was developed by BW IDEOL, is deployed offshore and has been producing electricity since 2018.

A nacelle-mounted LiDAR, which allows upstream wind measurements, was installed in October 2020 on the floating offshore wind turbine, Floatgen, being tested on the Centrale Nantes offshore test site, SEM-REV.

The French Ministry for Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MESRI) announced on 21 October 2021 the inclusion of THeoREM on the 2021 National Roadmap for Research Infrastructures.

TheoREM will attend the Seanergy 2021 exhibition in Nantes.

IFREMER and Centrale Nantes to present the ResourceCODE Marine Data Toolbox at the EWTEC 2021 Conference

The testing campaign conducted as part of the MaRINET2 Transnational Access programme at the IFREMER wave and current flume in Boulogne sur Mer, aims at providing datasets for the characterisation of the wake of a 3-blade horizontal axis current turbine under various flow conditions.

The EU-funded Ocean DEMO project 4th call opens on 4 June 2021. Successful applicants will receive free access to test their ocean energy products and services in real sea environments at the project’s network of test centres.

A joint LHEEA and IFREMER test programme was carried out to assess the influence of the proximity of a tidal turbine's mast on the forces applied to the rotor. These tests are seen as a bridge between many research and teaching activities.

Prime Minister, Jean Castex, visited the IFREMER center in Brittany on February 6, 2021.

Centrale Nantes, Ifremer and University Gustave Eiffel are bringing together their hydrodynamics and mechanical test facilities, to carry out research activities and collaborative projects with French and international companies.

Floatgen, the 2 MW floating wind turbine, installed on the Centrale Nantes offshore test site, SEM-REV (off Le Croisic), produced 14% more power in 2020 than in 2019, reaching an annual total of 6.8 GWh.

On 3 December, the company EOLINK and Centrale Nantes formally agreed to install a 5MW floating wind turbine on the SEM-REV test site, off the coast from Le Croisic. Since hosting FLOATGEN, the first floating wind turbine in France on site from 2018, Centrale Nantes is pushing ahead and is set to welcome EOLINK shortly with its innovative and promising wind turbine prototype.

The SOFTWIND project, run by Centrale Nantes, and more specifically its LHEEA and LS2N laboratories, and the company D-ICE, allows for small-scale wave-tank testing of wind turbines by overcoming the incompatibility between hydrodynamic and aerodynamic scaling.We take a look back at this project with some footage of the testing in the Centrale Nantes hydrodynamic and ocean engineering tank and interviews:

SWEL, Sea Wave Energy Ltd, is a UK based company with its testing facilities located in Larnaca, Cyprus. The company came to Centrale Nantes in October under the MEA programme, an Interreg North West Europe project which aims to increase the technical and commercial maturity of upcoming technologies by providing access to industry leading testing facilities and experts from over the EU.

The EU-funded Ocean DEMO project has awarded recommendations for support to 12 offshore renewable energy developers under its 3rd call. The awards will support developers on their path to commercialisation and ease the transition of ocean energy towards multi-device farms by providing free access to open sea test sites.

IFREMER and Centrales Nantes are both partners of the European project ResourceCODE (Ocean Energy Era-Net Cofund) which aims at developing a specific platform dedicated to resource assessment and design and optimisation of Offshore Renewable Energy converters. This platform combines an high resolution wave hindcast database and a statistical analysis toolbox made available through a dedicated web portal designed so as to facilitate data access and processing.

Numerous offshore operations are undertaken at SEM-REV during the spring and summer months. It is during this period that the weather conditions are more favourable, allowing work to be carried out efficiently and safely.

The EU-funded Ocean DEMO project opened its 3rd call today. Successful applicants will receive free access to test their ocean energy products and services in real sea environments at the project’s network of test centres.

The EU-funded Ocean DEMO project has awarded recommendations for support to ten offshore renewable energy developers under its 2nd call. The awards will support developers on their path to commercialisation and ease the transition of ocean energy towards multi-device farms by providing free access to open sea test sites.

The scanning LiDAR, a wind measurement instrument recently acquired by the LHEEA (summer 2019, funding from the region, ERDF, PIA), was installed on the terrace of the seafront villa in Penn Avel park on the Croisic site on 28 October 2019.

The MERS Carnot Institute (Marine Engineering Research for sustainable, safe and smart Seas) was one of 37 Carnot Institutes to be granted official certification on 7 February for a period of 4 years. Its ambition is to boost collaboration between companies and research laboratories to develop sustainable and ocean-friendly maritime activities.

The Ocean Energy Era-Net Cofund RESOURCECODE project partners met at Centrale Nantes on 4 February 2020 for a progress meeting to review implementation of the hindcast wave database, which is due to be integrated into the RESOURCECODE Marine Data Toolbox.

In December 2019, a new three-component laser velocimetry (LDV) was installed in the Ifremer wave-current flume tank.

THeoREM's scientific and technical teams met at Centrale Nantes on 29-30 January 2020 for a technical workshop to discuss experimental tools and methods for hydrodynamic testing.

Following very encouraging initial results communicated last July, the 2 MW Floatgen floating wind turbine, equipped with Ideol’s patented floating foundation and installed on the Centrale Nantes Offshore test site Sem-Rev (Atlantic Coast of France), exceeded production and availability expectations in the second half of 2019.

The aim of MEA is to progress the technical and commercial maturity level of early-stage (TRL 3 – 4) marine energy technology companies with the overall goal of reducing the risk of device failure in subsequent demonstration phases.

The advertised position is within the Hydrodynamic, Energetic and AtmosphericEnvironment Research Laboratory (LHEEA), whose missions include development of marine renewable energy, human and environmental safety in marine activities,reduction of polluting emissions associated with marine and terrestrial transport, and urban air quality. The position is attached to LHEEA’s hydrodynamic and oceanengineering tank (BHGO).

The main objective of Ocean DEMO (Demonstration Programme for Ocean Energy Pilot Farms and Supporting Technologies) is to help North West Europe enterprises working in low carbon technology to accelerate their transition from single prototype to multi-device farms by providing free access to world-leading test centres.

The main goal of this postdoctoral position is to develop tools dedicated to VAWT to simulate the aerodynamic and hydrodynamic behavior of a FOWT with a vertical axis rotor.

The second leg of the trials for the MaRINET2 (www.marinet2.eu ) Offshore Wind Round Robin testing program to be conducted at IFREMER’s Wave tank is now ongoing.

Developing technologies tailored to conditions of the marine environment requires a lot of testing. For its vertical-axis floating wind turbine project, HydroQuest is making use of the offshore and tank test facilities within the THeoREM research infrastructure. A partnership with benefits for both parties!

On Wednesday 21 August 2019, the WAVEGEM wave energy recovery platform was installed on Centrale Nantes' SEM-REV site, kicking off 18 months of offshore testing.

MaRINET2 (Marine Renewables Infrastructure Network) is an European Commission (Horizon 2020 programme) funded initiative.

The Ifremer test centre in Brest is hosting new tests until 19 July for the WindQuest wind turbine developed by HydroQuest. With a vertical axis, this wind turbine could, according to preliminary estimates, be installed on a float that is 40% smaller than that of a conventional horizontal axis floating wind turbine. An innovation that would reduce manufacturing costs.

SEM-REV, Centrale Nantes' offshore test site, which has been in place for over ten years now, continues to develop its operational and research tools. You can now consult the metocean data recorded at the offshore site located 10 nautical miles from Le Croisic and in the surrounding area.

The first trials of the Offshore Wind Round Robin testing program of the MaRINET (www.marinet2.eu) project have been conducted.

Partners of the Resourcecode project gathered at the IFREMER Bretagne center on June 13th 2019 to hold the first Resourcecode steering meeting.

The first THeoREM technical and scientific workshop was held on 22 and 23 November at the Ifremer site in Brest. It brought together the Ifremer and Centrale Nantes teams, which operate the hydrodynamic test facilities located in Boulogne, Brest, Nantes and Le Croisic.

MaRINET2 (Marine Renewables Infrastructure Network) is an initiative funded by the European Commission (Horizon 2020 program)

"Les rendez-vous Carnot" will be held on 17/18 October 2018 in Lyon Convention Centre. The event is designed for businesses of all sizes to meet major players in R&D and make their projects a reality.

On 4 and 5 August, FMGC installed the cast iron shells (IBOCS) - developed to ballast subsea electrical cables - at a depth of 30 metres on the Centrale Nantes SEM-REV offshore test site.

The third annual Floating Wind Power (FWP) Atlantic Forum, sponsored by its institutional partners - Brittany and the Pays de la Loire region– will be held from 19 to 21 September 2018.Centrale Nantes is co-organising the forum's technical visits, since the morning of the 21st September is set aside for a visit onboard ship of the Centrale Nantes SEM-REV offshore test site. SEM-REV is also one of test facilitiesTHeoREM research infrastructure.

The LCSM laboratory operates test basins in Brest and Boulogne-sur-Mer for hydrodynamic studies or qualification assessments. These experimental facilities are used for internal or external applications in cooperation with academics, SMEs, TPE, ETI or large groups.

In the LCSM laboratory, the recruited engineer will be placed under the hierarchical responsibility of the laboratory manager and assigned to the Brest ocean basin. He / she will contribute to research activities combining experimental modeling in national or international projects for subjects of surface hydrodynamics in general and secondly to the provision of experimental means for internal or external applications.

ICOE is taking place in Cherbourg, France from 12 to 14 June 2018. MET-CERTIFIED is offering an added bonus: a visit to the IFREMER test facility in Boulogne-sur-Mer on 15 June.

ICOE and SEANERGY team up in 2018 to hold the world's biggest event in Marine Energies in Cherbourg, Normandy – France, from 12 to 14 June.

IFREMER is organizing the MARINERG-i Science Plan & Design Study Workshop on 7-8 June 2018.

The ocean test facilities of Centrale Nantes will be open to the public on Friday 25 May as part of the Renewable Energy Days.

The THeoREM research infrastructure - a network of test facilities for hydrodynamics and Marine Renewable Energies, supported by Ifremer and Centrale Nantes - joined the research infrastructure roadmap of the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation in 2018.

On Thursday 12 April, Centrale Nantes installed a demonstrator, which aims to characterize underwater ambient noise, on its offshore test site, SEM-REV. This is part of the Acoustics of the SEA (SEAc) project developed by Nereis Environnement.

The Floatgen wind turbine, currently docked in the port of Saint-Nazaire before being towed offshore, produced its first electrons on Thursday 14 December.