DesignPro Renewables and Mitsubishi Electric, which has joined the hydrokinetic technology start-up in the development of its 25kW in-river turbine, are working towards deploying the device at the SEENEOH test site in Bordeaux, France, later this summer.
According to DesignPro, Mitsubishi Electric got on board the hydrokinetic turbine development after a successful tendering process and is now working with DesignPro on the power take-off (PTO) system for the 25kW device.
The building and testing of the device has been supported with €2.7 million of EU Horizon 2020 funding, secured by DesignPro in March 2017.
The turbine will be deployed at the SEENEOH site, located on the Garonne River, for a 12-month period that will allow for testing the device’s durability, wear-and-tear analysis, fish impact assessments, environmental impact, certified power curve generation, and operation and maintenance procedures to prepare the turbine for the market entry.
In April 2018, DesignPro Renewables revealed plans to deploy its 60kW hydrokinetic device for testing in the third quarter of 2018, also as part of its Horizon 2020 project to commercialize small-scale hydrokinetic river devices.
The company shifted testing plans for the 60kW device from July 2018, as it was originally intended at the time when the SEENEOH tidal testing site in France was selected as a proving ground for the company’s smaller 25kW hydrokinetic unit.