About us
Our history
Since 2012, France Energies Marines has been working towards the energy transition by supporting, through innovation, the development of marine renewable energy, particularly offshore wind energy. Here is a look back at the key milestones in our history.
Key milestones in our history
The beginning of a dynamic
The views of scientists, politicians and industry representatives are increasingly converging on the idea of developing renewable energy in France. Whilst Europe has set an ambitious target of 20% renewable energy in its energy mix by 2020, France launched a major national consultation on environmental issues in 2007: the "Grenelle de l'environment". The development of marine renewable energy was discussed there. At the same time, Ifremer launched a forward-looking study on these energy sources looking ahead to 2030 and presented its findings at the end of 2008. In the wake of this, the National Partnership Initiative for the Emergence of Marine Energy (IPANEMA) was launched to promote the development of these energy sources.
2008
The origin of France Energies Marines
Following the Grenelle de l'environnement, the President of France announced the creation of a national marine energy technology platform on 16 July 2009 in Le Havre, during his speech on France’s maritime policy. This platform was intended to bring together key stakeholders from the public and private sectors to foster innovation, as France aimed to generate 6,000 MW of marine renewable energy by 2020. Ifremer was entrusted with setting up this platform and drew on the work carried out by IPANEMA to lay its foundations. It was decided to establish this federative structure in Brest, in Brittany, to benefit from a leading research environment in marine science and technology. This structure will be called France Energies Marines.
France Energies Marines is launched
Before it can be officially established, the France Energies Marines project must still clear one final step: being selected as a winner of the ‘Institutes of Excellence in Carbon-Free Energy’ call for proposals, launched as part of the Investments for the Future Programme. Having secured this label in June 2011, France Energies Marines was finally launched in March 2012. France thus gained a research institute entirely dedicated to marine energy.
Signing of an agreement with the French National Agency for Research
On 10 July 2015, France Energies Marines signed its first framework agreement with the French National Research Agency (ANR). The French government has committed to providing financial support to the Institute over the next three years by co-funding R&D projects led by the organisation under the Investments for the Future Programme. Following an initial call for proposals, 9 of the 10 successful projects are led by the Institute. Building on this success, France Energies Marines gained momentum and consolidated its position as the leading national institute for marine renewable energy.
Becoming an Institute for Energy Transition
France Energies Marines became an Institute for Energy Transition on 30 August 2019. This decision by the French government ensures the long-term development of the Institute’s activities and strengthens the French sector’s collaborative R&D efforts. The strategic priorities are to reduce the cost of marine renewable energy and to integrate these technologies into the marine environment. The agreement is overseen by the newly created limited liability company (SAS), whose shareholders are the sector’s leading public and private stakeholders
A presence on all mainland French coastlines
Since its creation in Brest in 2012, France Energies Marines has gradually expanded its operations along all of mainland France’s maritime façades to support the development of fixed and floating offshore wind power. First with a branch in Nantes for the Atlantic façade in 2017, then in Marseille for the Mediterranean façade in 2019, before opening a branch in Le Havre at the end of 2022 for the Eastern Channel – North Sea façade
“Thanks to its relentless determination, the Institute has demonstrated its ability to foster synergy between stakeholders and has thus earned genuine legitimacy in supporting the sector. The direction we imagined at the outset has changed, but the result is exactly what we had hoped for. We can be proud of this!”
What now?
We keep on innovating to speed up the energy transition and build a sustainable future: let’s write our story together.
