Integrating Tidal Energy into the European Grid

An €11 million Interreg North-West Europe (NWE) project has been launched in Orkney to develop an all-in-one solution for the generation of clean predictable energy, grid management, and the production of hydrogen from excess capacity.

Led by the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, the €11m Integrating Tidal Energy into the European Grid (ITEG) project brings together partners from across the UK, France, Belgium and the Netherlands to address energy-related carbon emissions in North-West Europe and tackle grid export limitations faced in remote areas such as Orkney.

The project consortium includes EMEC, Orbital Marine Power, AREVA H2Gen, the Energy Systems Catapult, Energy Valley/New Energy Coalition, University of Caen Normandy, University of Le Havre Normandy, Ghent University and the Normandy Development Agency.

Funded by the Interreg NWE programme, part of the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund), the project will deliver an onshore energy management system at EMEC's Fall of Warness tidal test site, off the northern Orkney island of Eday. This will support the production of hydrogen using an AREVA H2Gen electrolyser, the first to be deployed in the UK, which will be powered by Scotrenewables' next generation 2 MW floating tidal energy converter, the SR2-2000.

The cost of pre-commercial demonstration for ocean energy is high and investors are reluctant to invest until the technology has been proven in the sea at scale. ITEG sets out to drive down these costs through the development of an integrated hydrogen production solution.

More info: ITEG website