On September 22nd, during the Seanergy 2021 conference, which is dedicated to renewable marine energies, the French Renewable Energies Trade Association (SER) and the UK Marine Energy Council (UK MEC) signed a memorandum of understanding, making it possible to affirm and to organise their next collaboration for the development of the tidal energy sector.

While France and the United Kingdom are among the best potentials in Europe for the development of renewable marine energies, many innovations and technological developments have been made by players and industrial on the sector on both sides of the Channel in recent years (technical studies, prototypes, launching of demonstrators, first arrays, etc).

To strengthen the sector development, the UK MEC and the SER have agreed to share their analyses, good practices, and feedback to support these technologies as quickly and efficiently as possible towards technical and economic maturity to benefit the energy transition in both countries.

Thus, this agreement provides for cross-promotion and communication actions between the SER and UK MEC and structure the exchange of information and documentation on our shared issues and, in particular, improve their respective knowledge. Finally, this merger paves the way for the concrete formalisation of joint collaborative actions and synergies in the field of renewable marine energies.

This agreement marks a new stage in the  TIGER project – which brings together nearly 20 academic and industrial partners to address common issues in the sector: lowering costs, organising the local value chain and developing sites.

From right to left: Jean-Louis Bal, President of SER, Sue Barr, President of the UK Marine Energy Council, Benoît Bazire, Vice-President of the SER MRE Commission (President of Sabella SA), Marc Lafosse, President of the Commission (President of Energie de la Lune)

Jean-Louis Bal, president of the SER, said:

This agreement marks the beginning of a collaboration which will be, I am convinced, fruitful and enriching, with a key player in the marine renewable energy sector in Europe. It is now up to us to keep this collaboration alive and thrive for the benefit of the development of our marine sectors and which also testifies to the capacity of the sector to organise itself to bring, to the authorities, the needs of the sector for the transition to a commercial phase in coming years.

Sue Barr, president of the Marine Energy Council, said:

Our marine energy industry is poised to deliver significant benefits to Europe, both in terms of electrical generation capacity and economic growth. By forging alliances such as this and the Interreg TIGER programme, we can maximise the growth and benefits the sector can bring. To deliver success, we need to work collaboratively, and I look forward to working with SER on marine energy industry development.