The FOREST (Future Ocean Renewable Energy System Technologies) project has launched with support from the European Commission under the Horizon Europe Programme.
With a budget of €4 million, the project brings together eight partners from the UK, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden to develop subsea components and digital technologies aimed at improving the durability, reliability, and efficiency of ocean energy systems.
Coordinated by the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, Scotland, the three-year project will focus on enhancing the performance of ocean energy arrays, reducing the levelised cost of energy (LCOE), improving sustainability, and accelerating market readiness. The project will also collect and share data to support the operation, maintenance, and reliability of ocean energy farms.
Matthew Finn, Managing Director of EMEC, said: “The FOREST project marks a major step forward for ocean energy, bringing together leading expertise from across Europe to tackle some of the sector’s most persistent challenges. By developing and testing next-generation subsea technologies here in Orkney, we’re advancing the reliability and efficiency of the ancillary systems crucial for ocean energy array deployments and helping to drive down costs. This collaboration demonstrates the power of innovation and partnership in accelerating the transition to clean, sustainable energy.”
The project will deliver three main innovations:
- 33 kV super dynamic cables and a connection hub for ocean energy arrays, designed by SubConnected;
- A subsea cable quick connector system for easier deployment and maintenance, developed by Apollo;
- An optical measurement platform from Indeximate, incorporating artificial intelligence and machine learning from CENER and Intelligent Plant, to monitor cable and device health and optimise array performance.
These technologies will be tested at EMEC’s wave and tidal test sites in Orkney, in partnership with wave and tidal energy developers. Bureau Veritas will oversee compliance with international certification standards.
Scotland’s Energy Secretary, Gillian Martin, said: “This project and its investment in advancing cutting-edge subsea technologies will help to catalyse the advancement of the renewable marine energy sector. A sector where Scotland has led the way through the development and deployment of a number of groundbreaking marine energy devices. It is particularly heartening to see that this project is coordinated by Scotland’s European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, supported by Horizon Europe. This international collaboration highlights the importance of sharing expertise and innovation to accelerate market readiness in order to realise the potential of marine energy in supporting our transition to net zero.”
FOREST supports the EU Strategy on Offshore Renewable Energy and the Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan, contributing to the EU’s 1 GW ocean energy target. By advancing technology and improving system reliability, the project aims to boost investor confidence, reduce costs, and speed up global deployment of ocean energy farms.
The consortium includes EMEC (Coordinator), Indeximate, Intelligent Plant, Bureau Veritas, Apollo (UK), WavEC Offshore Renewables (Portugal), CENER – National Renewable Energy Centre (Spain), and SubConnected (Sweden).
