Velella R&D project

With a French Government grant of 5.7 million euros (as part of the “France 2030” program implemented by ADEME following the “DEMO Tase” call for projects), Velella has for objective to qualify several technology bricks & innovative methods needed to prepare the deployment of commercial floating wind projects under the best economic, social & environmental conditions.

This project will be a first in the MRE sector: each innovation will be driven by an eco-design approach, from life cycle analysis to recyclability and impact on the underwater environment. The Velella R&D project brings together multiple internationally recognized industrial and academic players: BW Ideol, as consortium and project leader, Centrale Nantes, the OPEN-C Foundation, IFREMER, ENSTA Bretagne and IVM technologies.

Main activities

This project will rely on the proven and patented floating technology designed by BW Ideol to structure its research and innovation activities. Lasting 4 years, the project is built around 3 main axes.

The first axis aims at pursuing efforts to optimize the economic and environmental performance of the BW Ideol floater, particularly within the framework of tomorrow’s largest wind turbines (>20 MW).

The second axis will feature the on-site deployment of ​​mooring lines made up of innovative materials, and by the implementation of new underwater surveillance and inspection methods to further reduce costs during operation.

The evaluation of socio-economic impacts and the structuring of the floating wind power sector will form the third axis.

Finally - and this is quite unique for such a marine renewable energy project – all efforts will be guided by an eco-design approach, where each innovation will be analyzed & assessed from life cycle analysis (LCA), recyclability and potential consequences on the marine environment points of view.

Tests will be carried out on various sites and assets owned by the partners, including BW Ideol’s  Floatgen wind turbine operating successfully for the last 5 years on Centrale Nantes’s SEM-REV test site off Le Croisic, test site now operated by the OPEN-C Foundation.