NAVAL ENERGIES

Their core work

Naval Energies is a French industrial company specializing in marine renewable energy systems, particularly tidal turbine technology and offshore energy infrastructure. Their core work involves developing and scaling open-centre tidal turbine arrays for commercial deployment, as demonstrated by their flagship pilot array project off the coast of Normandy. They also contribute expertise in materials durability and corrosion protection for offshore wind and marine energy installations, bridging the gap between ocean energy generation and long-term structural performance at sea.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Naval Energies began their H2020 involvement firmly rooted in tidal energy, with early projects (2017-2018) focused on tidal turbine arrays and ocean energy design tools — reflecting their identity as a tidal technology developer. By 2020, their participation shifted toward offshore wind materials challenges (corrosion, coatings, structural durability), suggesting a strategic pivot from pure tidal energy toward broader offshore renewable energy infrastructure. This transition mirrors wider industry trends where dedicated tidal energy companies broadened their scope to remain commercially viable.

Moving from tidal-specific technology development toward cross-cutting offshore energy materials and durability challenges, suggesting future contributions will focus on the physical resilience of marine energy infrastructure rather than turbine design alone.

How they like to work

Naval Energies operates exclusively as a consortium participant, never taking the coordinator role — consistent with a large industrial partner contributing domain expertise rather than managing projects. With 44 unique partners across just 3 projects, they work in large, diverse consortia (averaging ~15 partners per project). This pattern indicates they are sought after as an industry end-user voice in research-heavy consortia rather than driving the research agenda themselves.

Despite only 3 projects, Naval Energies has built a broad network of 44 unique partners spanning 11 countries, reflecting participation in large EU-scale consortia typical of ocean energy and offshore wind innovation actions.

What sets them apart

Naval Energies brings rare industrial-scale experience in tidal turbine deployment to EU consortia — most ocean energy participants are research institutes or small developers, not large companies with pilot array experience. Their transition into offshore wind materials gives them a dual perspective spanning both emerging ocean energy and mature offshore wind sectors. For consortium builders, they offer the credibility of a large French industrial player with hands-on deployment experience in marine renewable energy.

Highlights from their portfolio

• OCTARRAY
  Their largest project by far (EUR 3.66M), focused on scaling an open-centre tidal turbine to pilot array stage in Normandy — one of the few real-world tidal array deployment efforts in H2020.
• MAREWIND
  Marks a strategic shift into offshore wind materials (corrosion, coatings, recycling), extending their marine energy expertise into the much larger offshore wind market.