French tidal developer Eel Energy has completed testing of its EEL prototype off the coast of Brest in Brittany.
The 1:6 scale device underwent four weeks of trials including tow testing to simulate and validate its behaviour in a marine environment.
“During 4 weeks, our tests made it possible to test validate the mechanical strength of our solution,” the company said.
“These tests also made it possible to obtain a power curve, at low speed, for our technology, which has reached several kW of average power.”
The trials generated a large volume of data which in turn have enabled the development and testing of a power measurement protocol submitted for certification to Bureau Veritas, it added.
The project was supported by BPI France and in partnership with Hutchinson, Ifremer and Dassault Systems.
Image: EEL prototype tested off Brest (Eel Energy)
