MAGALLANES RENOVABLES SL

Their core work

Magallanes Renovables is a Spanish SME that designs and builds tidal energy converters — floating platforms that extract electricity from tidal currents. Based in Redondela, Galicia (on Spain's Atlantic coast), they operate where tidal resources are commercially relevant. In both H2020 projects they appeared as a third party, most likely providing access to their tidal platform technology as a real-world test asset for research consortia rather than conducting the research themselves. Their trajectory from general ocean energy (OCEAN_2G) toward advanced composite materials (NEMMO) indicates they are actively improving the structural performance and durability of their turbine hardware.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their early H2020 engagement (OCEAN_2G, 2017–2019) centred on fundamental ocean and tidal energy technology at a system level — broad terms suggesting they were validating second-generation platform concepts. By 2019–2023 (NEMMO), the focus narrowed and deepened into materials science: composites and nano-composites moved to the foreground, pointing to a shift from proving the energy concept toward optimising the physical components (blades, nacelle structures) that make the platform commercially viable. This is a typical maturation arc for a hardware SME moving from prototype to product.

They are moving from system-level ocean energy demonstration toward materials-driven performance optimisation — a collaboration opportunity for composite materials labs, offshore manufacturing partners, or industrialisation consortia targeting the tidal sector.

How they like to work

Magallanes has not led any H2020 project — both participations were as a third party, meaning they were brought into consortia as a technology asset provider rather than a research driver. This suggests they are a sought-after hardware partner: consortia need their platform to run real-sea experiments, while Magallanes benefits from externally funded R&D on their technology. A prospective collaborator should expect them to contribute physical infrastructure and field data rather than leading scientific work packages.

Despite only two projects, Magallanes has built connections with 16 distinct consortium partners across 8 countries, a broad reach for a two-project SME. This points to large, multi-partner consortia — typical of ocean energy projects that require international expertise spanning naval engineering, materials science, and offshore testing sites.

What sets them apart

Magallanes Renovables occupies a rare niche: a southern-European SME with an operational floating tidal energy converter — a physical product, not just a concept. In a sector dominated by northern European developers (UK, Denmark, Netherlands), a Spanish tidal technology company with Atlantic coast access and a track record in two EU research projects is an unusual and valuable consortium asset. For any project needing a real tidal platform for trials, they are one of a very small pool of credible technology providers in continental Europe.

Highlights from their portfolio

• NEMMO
  A 2019–2023 Innovation Action (the highest-TRL H2020 instrument), NEMMO pushed toward commercial-readiness by developing next-generation composite and nano-composite materials specifically for ocean energy systems — indicating Magallanes was central to real-world durability testing.
• OCEAN_2G
  As an early-stage Research and Innovation Action targeting second-generation ocean energy technologies, OCEAN_2G placed Magallanes at the frontier of the sector in 2017, before tidal energy had broad EU industrial backing.