Isra-Mart srl:French investment set to flow into OpenHydro

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Isra-Mart srl news:

French marine engineering firm DCNS has stepped up its interest in the renewable energy sector, shelling out €14m (£12m) for an eight per cent stake in Irish tidal energy firm OpenHydro.

The two companies signed a strategic agreement last week to formalise their working relationship, which has centred on DCNS providing support to OpenHydro's Paimpol-Bréhat tidal power project for energy giant EDF.

The project will see OpenHydro supply and install four large turbines off the Côtes d'Armor coast in Brittany to create what it says will be the world's first grid-connected tidal energy farm.

The company has a project portfolio spanning the USA, Canada, France, Scotland and the Channel Islands and last year secured £1.85m in grant funding from the Scottish government to support the development of new technologies capable of connecting devices in tidal arrays.

OpenHydro said it was looking to combine its expertise with DCNS, which in turn is looking to build a presence in the fast-expanding marine renewables sector.

DCNS is also researching the viability of floating offshore wind farms and, in partnership with a number of other firms, plans to launch several major tidal energy projects.

"DCNS will support OpenHydro to promote and construct tidal turbine farms by making available technical and industrial resources," said Frédéric Le Lidec, director of DCNS' Marine Renewable Energy Incubator. "Marine renewable energy is an integral part of the group's strategy and offers significant opportunities for long-term growth."

The agreement is subject to approval from the French government and OpenHydro shareholders, who were urged by Brendan Gilmore, OpenHydro's chairman, to accept the offer.

"The directors together with our major shareholders believe that this investment supports and enhances OpenHydro's development plans and are unanimously recommending its acceptance," he said.