RT22 | Marine Renewable Energy for the grid: R&D challenge from France Energies Marines expertise

"Marine renewable energy (MRE) market is in full expansion. Whether they are in the continuity of land-based renewable energies (wind, photovoltaic) or specific to the maritime environment (wave, tidal, the thermal energy of the seas), they involve specific work for their design and the repatriation of electrical energy from the production site to the consumption site. France Energies Marines (FEM) is the French Institute for energy transition for offshore renewable energies. Its mission is to define, set up, and apply the scientific and technological environment required to overcome the obstacles facing this rapidly developing sector. A multidisciplinary team, four R&D themes, a model of public-private collaboration shared with seven other institutes for energy transition, and eight technological research institutes: this is France Energies Marines summarised in a few figures. These figures outline the contours of an institute particularly well-equipped to support R&D in the offshore renewable energies sector, a key component of France's future energy mix and of Europe's action to build a low-carbon world. FEM sets itself apart with a cross-cutting approach, providing the entire sector with innovative and validated tools to reduce the costs of producing energy and financing operational projects. The Institute develops differentiating and holistic approaches to reduce the time required to build farms. It supports various technologies: bottom-fixed and floating offshore wind, tidal and wave energy, ocean thermal energy conversion, and osmotic energy. The activities of France Energies Marines are carried out by a joint-stock company built around a public-private partnership of 18 associate members and eight contributing members, all key players in France's marine renewable energy sector. A lot of research is still going on in MRE. FEM has and has had R&D projects on: - The production of electrical energy with the DTOcean+ project. Its aims to optimize the production of energy from the resource to its injection into the grid, - The centralization and shaping of electrical energy to prepare for its repatriation with the AFOSS-DC project. Its aims to evaluate all the constraints on a high-power FlOtting SubStation (FOSS) HVDC, - The reliability of electrical equipment in a constantly changing environment with LISORE MOSISS projects. Their aims to evaluate the reliability of all the components of a FOSS and the necessary optimization of the needed monitoring, - The participation of MREs in the stability of the electrical grid, continental or isolated, with the VALARRAY project. Its works on optimization software for tidal and floating offshore turbine arrays. Another project is the OPTILE project. Its aims to optimize the MRE sizing for a stable, reliable, low-carbon isolated grid. We, therefore, propose to present the advances and challenges of power generation via MRE sources. "