The hydrokinetic turbines, developed by Irish company GKinetic Energy, could soon be powering the city center of Limerick as part of a +CityxChange project which has just secured €20 million from the Horizon 2020 funding program.
As consortium partners, GKinetic is included among 11 enterprises, nine SMEs, three non-profit organizations, and two universities that will be led by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in the development of smart positive energy cities across Europe.
Aside from the Horizon 2020 Smart Cities and Communities grant, the +CityxChange – short for positive city exchange – secured further €10 million from partners.
Demonstrations, including the deployment of a tidal energy turbine in Limerick will be rolled out over the project’s duration, while heavily involving the local community and governments, which is highlighted as an important part of the project process, according to GKinetic Energy.
The 5-year project will kick off in January 2019, and will implement the use of digital services to create more sustainable communities in two lighthouse cities – Limerick, Ireland and Trondheim, Norway along with other EU partner locations in Romania, Czech Republic, Spain, Bulgaria, and Estonia.
Vincent Mc Cormack , Managing Director of GKinetic Energy, said:”GKinetic is really excited to be a part of this fantastic project that has the potential to put the first grid connected tidal turbine in the Republic of Ireland and to demonstrate to the rest of Europe how to provide energy solutions for the future.”
The +CityxChange initiative aims to share the knowledge gathered in the project across Europe and set the standard for moving into a low-carbon and energy efficient future.