[Press Release] Developing marine renewable energies: the institutes b<>com, France Energies Marines, Jules Verne and SuperGrid Institute create the Wind Power Alliance

During the Seanergy 2024 trade fair, a major event in the marine renewable energy sector, the institutes b<>com, France Energies Marines, Jules Verne and SuperGrid Institute announced the creation of the Wind Power Alliance. Combining the expertise and innovations of these four institutes, the alliance aims to enhance the deployment of new technologies for stakeholders in the wind energy sector, including manufacturers, developers, and equipment suppliers, thereby boosting the competitiveness of the entire industry.

« With the rapid acceleration of wind energy, optimising the economics of wind farms and theirgrid connectivity is becoming increasingly crucial. This alliance serves as a catalyst forproviding the industry with wind farm optimisation solutions and services developed bythe Institute. These solutions will help define the optimum design of the AC collector grid,based on widely-used performance indicators for developers and prescribers, as well asmethods for connecting wind farms using AC or DC. The combination of complementaryskills from these four institutes is a major asset in delivering a comprehensive, integrated service to the industry. »

Hubert De La Grandière, Managing Director of SuperGrid Institute.

The Wind Power Alliance is addressing the challenge of scaling up wind power, particularly offshore wind power, against a backdrop of accelerating development, construction and connection of wind farms. The aim is to bring together innovation leaders at a national level to transform the challenges of viability into innovations, with a view to deploying 18 GW of offshore wind power by 2035 and 45 GW by 2050.

Specifically, the alliance aims to tackle major challenges such as designing increasingly powerful offshore wind farms far from the coast, manufacturing and assembling very large components on a massive scale, connecting them to the power grid, and ensuring grid maintenance, surveillance, and safety. This comprehensive, technological approach will enable the alliance to meet the growing demands of the offshore wind industry and significantly contribute to its development.

To achieve this, the alliance will be involved at every stage of the offshore wind industry’s life cycle, covering the entire value chain, with a strong commitment to supporting local businesses to ensure that this industry creates jobs in France.

The Wind Power Alliance will focus on projects requiring advanced systems and technological expertise.

Each institute brings its own specific expertise and technologies to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of offshore wind farms:

• France Energies Marines specialises in design tools and technologies, as well as technologies for the in service, environmental, and socio-economic monitoring of wind farms.
• IRT Jules Verne excels in manufacturing processes and the recyclability of components, along with the capability to handle large-scale components.
• b<>com is dedicated to the connectivity and cybersecurity of wind farms, addressing the challenges of reliability and remoteness from the coast.
• SuperGrid Institute focuses on optimising the electrical architecture of wind farms,conversion, connection, and grid integration technologies.

The combination of these complementary areas of expertise ensures that the sector’s technical and operational challenges can be met effectively. The Wind Power Alliance has already committed to two collaborative projects. The first project, supported by France Energies Marines and IRT Jules Verne, focuses on the digitalisation of offshore wind energy. The second project, led by France Energies Marinesand SuperGrid Institute, is centred on floating HVDC (high-voltage direct current)substations.