The SHINES project (Showcasing Hydrokinetic energy Innovations for Northwest European Energy Sovereignty) launches this week, bringing together 14 partners from France, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Germany.
Co-financed by Interreg North-West Europe under the 4th call for projects, SHINES is set to unlock the potential of tidal and river energy systems, an opportunity still largely untapped in the region.
With a total budget of 10M, including 60% ERDF funding ( 6M), this ambitious project led by OPEN-C Foundation will span from January 2025 to December 2028.
North-West Europe (NWE) is a prime location for tidal and river energy development, thanks to its unique natural features. Specific locations - gulfs, straits, islands, inlets, and spots along large rivers - offer promising conditions. Despite its potential, tidal and river energy in NWE requires further investment to overcome political, economic, and regulatory hurdles.
SHINES will address these challenges by replicating and scaling up three innovative solutions (HydroWing, RivGen and TidalKite) through grid connections and real sea deployments in France and the Netherlands. Some of the most promising sites across the region will be developed, engaging 100 organisations in the adoption of tidal and river energy systems.
Inyanga is delighted to be a partner in the SHINES project, using its patented HydroWing technology.
Inyanga will design, construct and install a grid-connected 600kW tidal energy turbine on the Paimpol-Bréhat test site in France, then operate and monitor the device throughout the test period.
In addition, Inyanga will install and maintain the SeaQurrent TidalKite device at Paimpol-Bréhat, managing all offshore operations.
NWE's wealth of expertise in water management, hydrodynamics, flow measurements, and innovative technologies such as HydroWing, RivGen and TidalKite provide a solid foundation for progress. SHINES will catalyze transnational collaboration, enabling the region to consolidate efforts, quantify its energy potential, and drive investments to achieve generation capacity targets.
The project is aligned with Europe's Net-Zero Strategy and the Critical Raw Materials Act, contributing to the goals of 1GW of ocean energy capacity by 2030 and 40GW by 2050. Ocean energy holds the promise of creating 400,000 high-value jobs by 2050, revitalizing coastal communities with histories rooted in shipbuilding, fishing, and oil and gas industries.
SHINES Project Partners:
- Fondation OPEN-C (Lead Partner)
- ORPC Ireland
- SeaQurrent
- Inyanga Tech (Inyanga Marine Energy Group)
- Bretagne Développement Innovation
- Geemente Ameland
- Amelander Energiecoöperatie
- Cerema
- Bundesanstalt für Wasserbau
- Haute Ecole Spécialisée de Suisse Occidentale
- Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg
- ÉireComposites Teo.
- Foras na Mara - Marine Institute
- Université de Liège
About Inyanga
Inyanga Marine Energy Group develops cutting-edge solutions for the global offshore renewables industry. Inyanga operates a specialised team of offshore engineers from their head office in Falmouth, UK and from Rennes in France, where their French subsidiary Inyanga Tech are based. The group also has offices in Anglesey in Wales, and Nova Scotia in Canada.
Inyanga Marine Energy Group has two divisions - HydroWing, which focuses on tidal energy technology development, and Inyanga Maritime, which delivers offshore engineering and installation. The company aims to advance through to deployment of the innovative tidal energy converter, HydroWing, to provide cost-effective, reliable, and predictable power to communities around the globe.
In September 2024, Inyanga Marine Energy Group was awarded 10MW for their tidal energy project at Morlais through Allocation Round 6 (AR6) of the UK government's Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme. This doubles the scale of their project, which uses their innovative HydroWing technology, to 20MW, building on their successful 10MW award in the previous allocation round. This allocation was the largest tidal stream project in the UK in the latest Contracts for Difference round. Inyanga Marine Energy Group have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Verdant Morlais Ltd to deliver a further 4.9MW tidal stream energy project at Morlais.
In 2024, the company also won a contract with Energies PH, Inc, through its affiliate San Bernardino Ocean Power Corporation, to build Southeast Asia's first ever tidal power generation plant at Capul in the Philippines. HydroWing has also signed a binding agreement with one of PLN's Subholdings to develop plans for the first tidal current power plant in Indonesia. For more information, visit https://inyangamarine.com/
Contacts
Fondation OPEN-C: Sandrine Jamet, presse@fondation-open-c.org
Inyanga Marine Energy Group - Lynn File, lynn@brandinnovation.co.uk
