Sem-Rev offshore test site

SEM-REV is a leading European site for multi-technology offshore testing that is connected to the grid. The site has all the offshore and onshore equipment needed to develop, validate and optimise systems for recovering energy mainly from swell and offshore wind.

It was created in 2007 by Centrale Nantes and, since 2023, it is managed by the OPEN-C Foundation.

Off the coast of the Pays de la Loire region

The offshore site comprises:
•    A 1km2 designated maritime zone, 20km off the coast from Le Croisic, fully equipped to measure sea and weather conditions (wind, swell and local parameters) and clearly marked out by cardinal buoys.
•    Electric infrastructure to connect the system to the Enedis medium-voltage network via an 8MW 25km-long cable
•    A hub enabling the simultaneous connection of three technologies
•    A research centre, located at Penn-Avel, to receive and analyse data and control the test devices -staffed by a dozen researchers and engineers.

Site selection was based on field studies that identified an optimum site off the coast of Le Croisic on the basis of environmental and regulatory technical constraints and respect for the use of maritime spaces by offshore professionals.

Projects tested on the offshore site

First French offshore wind turbine: FLOATGEN

FLOATGEN is the only offshore wind turbine, whether fixed and floating, installed in France. The project is supported by Idéol, Centrale Nantes and Bouygues Travaux Publics.

Construction work on the floating foundation took place between 2016 and 2017 in Saint Nazaire. The turbine was inaugurated on 13th October 2017 and towed out to the Centrale Nantes SEM-REV test site in April 2018 to undergo testing in real conditions. As of September 2018 the electricity it produces is injected into the network.
  The Acoustics of the SEA (SEAc) project run by Nereis Environnement installed sensors to characterise underwater ambient noise.
 

Protection for underwater cables developed by FMGC

Underwater energy cables are of great importance in Marine Renewable Energy projects. They can easily be damaged. For the flow of energy transported to be stable and continuous, it is essential that the cables are well-protected.
 

WAVEGEM®: the wave energy recovery prototype

The WAVEGEM® platform is a hybrid autonomous energy production platform which is designed to supply marine or island installations without access to the electricity grid, providing a source of electricity which respects the environment. WAVEGEM® was developed by GEPS Techno, a company based in the Pays de la Loire region. The platform was installed on the SEM-REV site on 21 August 2019, kicking off 18 months of offshore testing.

Numerous other projects are due to be tested on the SEM-REV site under different funding programmes and partnerships.

  (CPER - Contrat de Projet Etat-Région- pluriannual French state/regional infrastructure planning and investment programmes).

The SEM-REV site was built within the framework of the CPER 2007-2013 for the Pays de la Loire region. Managed by Centrale Nantes, this operation was supervised and financed by the State, the Regional Council of Pays de la Loire, the Loire-Atlantique, as well as other bodies and local authorities. SEM-REV is organized around the "Environment and sustainable development" axis of the CPER. It is linked to the "Alternative Energy and Propulsion" project of the same contract.

SEM-REV has a steering committee made up of official representatives from the following bodies: the General Secretariat of Regional Affairs, the Regional Council of the Pays de la Loire, the Loire-Atlantique, the CNRS (the National Centre for Scientific Research) and Centrale Nantes.