Carnot MERS News

The 2021 Call for Projects aims to collect, analyse and select resourcing projects that will benefit from the repayment of a part of the 2020 Institute Carnot MERS (iC MERS) revenue allocation. This call is the second edition for the iC MERS.

Ifremer kick-starts its first Research "Blue Chair" to achieve excellence in ocean scienceIn order to develop new fields of research, Ifremer is setting up a new scheme, the "Blue Chairs", for a maximum duration of 5 years. This experimental scheme is part of the Exceptional Scientific Investment Planapproved in October 2020 by the Ifremer’s Board of Directors, in order to accelerate and amplify the implementation of its strategic plan up to 2030 and to contribute to the objectives of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Sciences for Sustainable Development.

Applications were open from 15 October to 15 November 2020 in the first Institut Carnot MERS call for projects. The selection committee met on 25 January 2021 and selected 8 projects.

Prime Minister, Jean Castex, visited the IFREMER center in Brittany on February 6, 2021.

Floatgen, the 2 MW floating wind turbine, installed on the Centrale Nantes offshore test site, SEM-REV (off Le Croisic), produced 14% more power in 2020 than in 2019, reaching an annual total of 6.8 GWh.

On 3 December, the company EOLINK and Centrale Nantes formally agreed to install a 5MW floating wind turbine on the SEM-REV test site, off the coast from Le Croisic. Since hosting FLOATGEN, the first floating wind turbine in France on site from 2018, Centrale Nantes is pushing ahead and is set to welcome EOLINK shortly with its innovative and promising wind turbine prototype.

Whatever the dimension or field of your business or industry, come and find your R&D partners during this 13th edition. The Carnot MERS teams will be available on-site.

Frédérique Vidal, the Minister for Higher Education, Research and Innovation visited the Centrale Nantes campus on 22 October as part of a national tour.

The underwater robotics company Forssea Robotics designs and manufactures subsea robotics and visual positioning technologies. Forssea is pleased to announce that Ifremer – the French National Institute for Ocean Science – recently acquired an equity interest in the company. The company anticipates rapid expansion in the fields of marine renewable energies and scientific exploration and Ifremer once again marks its ambition to drive innovation in the blue economy.

Confirming the outstanding production and availability numbers recorded throughout 2019, the 2 MW Floatgen floating offshore wind turbine, equipped with Ideol’s patented floating foundation and installed on the Sem-Rev test site (Atlantic Coast of France), achieved a new record monthly production in February.

The Carnot MERS (Marine Engineering Research for sustainable, safe and smart Seas) is one of the 37 Carnot Institutes officially certified on the 7 February for 4 years. Its ambition is to accelerate collaboration between businesses and research laboratories to develop sustainable and responsible marine activity.

The "Blue Growth Farm" project involves the development of a multi-purpose offshore platform which will accommodate an aquaculture system, a wind turbine and wave-power systems.

On Wednesday 21 August 2019, the WAVEGEM wave energy recovery platform was installed on Centrale Nantes' SEM-REV site, kicking off 18 months of offshore testing.

The WAVEGEM hybrid platform, developed by Geps Techno and its partners within the framework of the IHES project, was launched in Saint Nazaire Port on 6th December 2018, and inaugurated and christened on 18 December 2018. It will be installed on the Centrale Nantes SEM-REV offshore test site in early 2019.

The FIEEC (Federation of Electrical, Electronic and Communication Industries) Applied Research Prize is awarded each year to three researchers whose work has been developed in connection with a Small or Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) or a Medium-Sized Enterprise (ETI) to generate growth and jobs

Triton wave converter testing took place in the Centrale Nantes Hydrodynamic and Ocean Engineering Tank in May 2018.

The OMDYN2 project - selected during the France Energies EMR ITE 2017 call for projects and with ANR (French National Research Agency) funding - was launched on 10 January. Following on from OMDYN1, Centrale Nantes is participating in the scientific management of the project, notably through the SEM-REV offshore test site, LHEEA teams and involvement of the GeM laboratory.

Within the framework of transnational access of the Marinet2 European project, Centrale Nantes facilities hosted a team from Rostock University to test a new concept of floating wind turbine.