TIGER is the largest project funded by the Interreg France (Channel) England Programme, with €48.4 million invested to drive collaboration and cost reduction through tidal turbine installations in the UK and France.

The project, led by the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, has enabled installation of four new tidal stream energy devices at test sites in and around the Channel region, with a further 16 in development. This has created a total of 3.6 MW new tidal capacity, with a further 57.4 MW in the pipeline.

France has all the scientific and industrial skills required to take up the challenge. Let’s roll out a whole new industrial sector around the Hydroquest’s technology, fully designed and manufactured in France.

The tests were caried out with a 1:6-scaled model and for a flow velocity up to 4.5 m/s. It is the most powerful scaled model ever tested in the Institute of Marine Engineering large towing tank. These tests allowed Hydroquest to validate the performances of its new tidal turbine design technology closed to real conditions.

Such tests represent an important step for the engineering of Hydroquest tidal technology through the TIGER program.

Building on a decade’s experience in developing river current turbines, in 2016 HydroQuest added tidal turbine technology to its portfolio. Directly inspired by their existing river turbine technology, the OceanQuest tidal project won the ADEME competition “Energies Renouvelables en Mer” (Marine renewable energies) in 2017.

The innovative 1MW OceanQuest tidal turbine recently celebrated its one-year anniversary of continuous operation at the Paimpol-Bréhat site in Brittany, proving its reliability and efficacity. A partnership between HydroQuest and Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie (CMN), provides HydroQuest with a strong production capability & expertise on the strategic site of Cherbourg.

The new generation of HydroQuest tidal turbines will be one of the most powerful available, with a nominal power of 2.5MW.

Rémi Gruet, CEO of Ocean Energy Europe, underlined the value that HydroQuest will bring to the Ocean Energy Europe Board of Directors:

“The tidal energy sector is regaining momentum in France, so it is timely that we are now welcoming an important French developer to the OEE Board. This move confirms HydroQuest’s commitment to the technology and demonstrates that they are ready to advance to the industrial stage of development. I am looking forward to working with Guillaume to shape the future of this exciting sector, which can only benefit from HydroQuest’s extensive experience.”

Guillaume Gréau, HydroQuest’s Head of Business Development added:

“We at HydroQuest are excited to join the OEE Board of Directors and to play our part in realising the huge potential of tidal power. Four years ago, we took the wise decision to capture not only the energy of rivers, but also the immense power of the seas. It is a key objective of HydroQuest to be part of the clean energy transition, and together with Ocean Energy Europe and my fellow Directors, I am looking forward to writing the next chapter in the industrialisation and commercial deployment of tidal energy.”

On July 16, our 1MW tidal turbine OceanQuest obtained certification for its power curve from Bureau Veritas.

The tidal turbine deployed in Paimpol-Bréhat has just been certified for its power curve, which meets the requirements of the IEC 62600-200 standard evaluating the performance of the measurement of the power of tidal energy converters.

Our team is proud and satisfied with this successful milestone.

Hydroquest Power Curve Assessment Conformity Statement

That was 1 year ago!

Today we celebrate the first anniversary of OCEANQUEST 1MW immersion off the coast of Bréhat island!

12 months later, the turbine is still fully operational and is starting this second year in great shape!

Thank you again to everyone who has contributed and still contributes to this success.

We would like to take this chance to thank again our strategic partners for making our success in this fantastic adventure.

Stay tuned, more to come!