DCNS participates in the 4th International Conference on Ocean Energy. This conference gathered global industry and academic experts in marine renewable energy.
They share on this growing new industry. DCNS, a world leader in naval defence and an innovative player in energy, showcases its developments in the emerging world market of ocean energy, in which the Group is committed to playing a leading role.
The DCNS stand showcases:
Tidal turbines: DCNS at the centre of the development of a marine turbine industry. Underwater tidal turbines convert the energy of marine tidal streams into electricity, in the same way as wind turbines do with the wind. They use the strength and speed of marine currents to spin their blades. In 2011, the Group took a significant equity stake in the market leading players – the Irish company OpenHydro. DCNS and OpenHydro are collaborating with EDF on a world-first pilot farm project in France. This project will enable DCNS to validate some of its technological and industrial concepts as the basis for confident future development. As well as making this investment in OpenHydro DCNS is already involved in a pre- commercial tidal power farm of ten turbines to be installed between now and 2016 in the Alderney Race, near Cherbourg. The effective launch of this project in the next few months will be another world first. It will also be a key factor for significant success in this already competitive emerging global market.
Floating wind turbines: a new generation of offshore wind power. Offshore floating wind turbines exploit the greater power provided by stronger, more consistent offshore winds. This new technology enables the installation of energy conversion systems in depths greater than 50 metres, which means that these floating generators can access a denser energy resource, at the same time as limiting the visual impact from the coast. The first commercial farms will be installed in 2020 and will be based on the innovative floating wind turbine technology known as WINFLO. The complementary skills and expertise of the project partners have made it possible to provide WINFLO generators with an innovative semi- submersible floatation system, a lightweight generator designed specifically for this offshore application, and a special anchoring system. The building of the first demonstrator will be begin in 2013.
Wave energy: a high-potential energy source. Harvesting wave energy using systems called wave energy converters (WEC) provides access to an energy resource with almost limitless horizons. This is the world’s densest renewable energy sources, with huge power generating potential. Its characteristics make this resource capable of approaching the generating capacity of global nuclear power. Since 2009, DCNS has been developing a wave energy converter demonstrator in La Réunion. Through this project, DCNS is currently optimising the chosen solution to adapt it to the specific conditions of this Island. DCNS is in charge of the project management for the prototype assembly and deployment. In addition, in October 2011, the Finnish utility Fortum and DCNS signed a letter of intent for a joint effort to develop wave energy in France. Both parties have jointly started a feasibility study for a pilot plant on the French Atlantic coast.
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) : structuring projects for the future. OTEC uses the difference of temperature between the warm surface water and the cold deep water to produce electrical power 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. OTEC could therefore replace fossil energy and eventually make a major contribution to meeting the increasing electricity demand from tropical countries, helping them to achieve energy self-sufficiency at a future date. In this field, DCNS is paving the way for standard turnkey power generating plants by taking up one of the major technological challenges of OTEC: the cold water pipe (-1000m) and through the construction of an OTEC land-based prototype, already installed at La Réunion. This land-based prototype will help DCNS to test the energy generating system and to validate the performance of OTEC energy generating system.
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Press release, October 18, 2012; Image: dcns