Seaturns Accelerates Its Large-Scale Development with the OPEN-C Foundation

11 June 2025

Seaturns Demonstrator trials at Sainte Anne du Portzic. (Image credit: Olivier Dugornay, Ifremer)

The Bordeaux-based startup Seaturns and the OPEN-C Foundation have announced the signing of an agreement for the deployment, in the summer of 2025, of a full-scale wave energy conversion demonstrator at the SEM-REV offshore test site off the coast of Le Croisic. This partnership marks a key step in the finalization of Seaturns' technology and illustrates the essential role played by the OPEN-C Foundation in supporting emerging technologies in Marine Renewable Energies (MRE).

Rapid and Logical Progress for Seaturns

Less than six months after the completion of the 1/4 scale trials conducted between October 2023 and February 2025 at the Sainte-Anne du Portzic site (Ifremer), Seaturns is already ready to take the step to full scale. This rapid progress is explained by the simple and robust design of its wave energy system, based on the principle of oscillation of a float combined with pneumatic conversion of wave energy.

“Seaturns is moving fast because our system has been designed to be both efficient and easily industrialized,” explained Vincent Tournerie, founder and president of Seaturns.

Testing to Validate

The SEM-REV, operated by the OPEN-C Foundation, offers a complete and secure framework for full-scale testing of MRE technologies. The underwater infrastructures, environmental observation and monitoring capabilities, as well as the technical expertise of the OPEN-C Foundation, allow industries to mitigate risks to their prototypes before any transition to commercial scale.

“The testing of a prototype at sea is greatly facilitated by the provision of dedicated infrastructure. This allows industries to focus on their technology. This is the mission of the OPEN-C Foundation, and we are currently preparing the site and protocols to welcome the demonstrator developed by Seaturns,” explained Yves Perignon, Scientific and Technical Director of the OPEN-C Foundation.

An Agreement Framework for the Trials

The agreement signed between Seaturns and the OPEN-C Foundation sets the operational framework for the deployment, operation, and dismantling of the demonstrator. All preparations are underway, both for the demonstrator and the test site, for an upcoming installation that will last 18 months at sea. The energy produced during these trials will be dissipated. This first phase will validate the reliability of the system, certify the performance in electricity production, and assess the environmental impacts. The results obtained will constitute an essential foundation for a transition to commercial scale.

In Service of the French Wave Energy Sector

This project is part of the SEAWEC program, coordinated by Seaturns, aiming to prepare for the industrialization of the technology. It follows the IAS-WEC project, a winner of the November 2023 competition led by Bpifrance and ADEME and supported by the State (France2030) and the European Union (France Relance / Next Generation EU). This full-scale demonstration constitutes a central milestone in Seaturns’ commercial development strategy. From 2026, the startup plans to deploy its first commercial wave energy farms, thus initiating the industrial production of low-carbon electricity from wave energy. By providing its infrastructure and expertise, the OPEN-C Foundation supports the acceleration of the development of the wave energy sector.