A new business hub dedicated to the marine renewable energies has been launched in Pays de la Loire, France. The new West Atlantic Marine Energy Center aims to make the region an international leader in the sector by 2020.
The first objective for 2015-2020 is to become the leader in the offshore wind fixed foundation market, especially for sites with harsh weather conditions. Then, it aims to accelerate the transition to floating turbines.
In parallel, the Pays de la Loire will continue to play its pioneering role in the development of other emerging marine renewable energy technologies, such as the tidal turbine, marine thermal energy and wave power generation.
The initiative is the result of a collaborative Research-Training-Innovation project launched in 2012, to which each of the local partners—institutions of higher education and research, local government bodies, economic and industrial players, and competitiveness organizations— agreed to contribute its own particular expertise.
The project, run by the École Centrale de Nantes, the University of Nantes, the EMC2 competitiveness cluster and the Jules Verne Institute of Research and Technology, with support from the Pays de la Loire Region, and Feder (Fonds européen de développement régional, European Fund for Regional Development), will be joined in the near future by Nantes Metropole and Saint-Nazaire’s Carene.
The overall budget for the West Atlantic Marine Energy Center is estimated to be €100 million over five years, with €4m contributed by the Pays de la Loire Region of which €800k comes from the European Regional Development Fund.
Image: STX France