A label to promote Breton industrial skills

As a candidate for the AO5 call for tenders for a floating wind farm in Southern Brittany, Océole has signed a support service offered by the professional association Bretagne Pôle Naval (BPN). The aim is to obtain the "Breizh content" label created by the association at the beginning of the year, which certifies that the offers proposed by the candidates correspond to the expectations of Breton companies in terms of local employment and are credible in terms of local industrial development. In order to award this label, Bretagne Pôle Naval will evaluate, for each of the offers, the expected level of mobilisation of the local economic fabric and more particularly the recourse to Breton SMEs and ETIs, but also the willingness of the candidates to establish a local sector by involving the Breton industrial fabric in projects distinct from the current call for tender.

A call to local entities to develop cutting-edge know-how

Aware of the need to develop locally the cutting-edge know-how necessary for the emergence of a sector of excellence, Océole has chosen to initiate a call for interest in order to identify innovative solutions for improving maritime safety in floating wind farms. The winners of this call, open to all potentially relevant local entities (individuals or legal entities, research laboratories, universities, companies and associations), were announced at the Seanergy exhibition held in Le Havre from 15 to 17 June. The proposals from AMG Microwave, an SME based in Lannion that designs and manufactures radio and microwave products, Agiltech, a company that develops control and mapping systems for fisheries, and SEE-D, a consulting firm based in Vannes that specialises in artificial intelligence and data science, were selected.

« This selection reflects our ambition to mobilise Brittany's industrial fabric around strategic technological know-how for the offshore wind industry. The three winning projects perfectly demonstrate the capacity of local companies to develop cutting-edge skills in risk management. » Ken Ilacqua, Offshore Wind Manager, Q ENERGY France

Close collaboration with the port of Saint-Nazaire

For Océole, encouraging the local establishment of the offshore wind industry also requires the mobilisation of historical industrial players and in particular strategic infrastructures such as the port of Saint-Nazaire. In the midst of an industrial reconversion to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, the port is fully mobilised to accompany the rise of floating wind energy. During the FOWT 2002 conference, Océole addressed a letter of intent to the public establishment of the Grand Port of Nantes-Saint-Nazaire in which the consortium undertakes to collaborate with the port and to accompany it in the definition of the infrastructures necessary for the development of the sector. Financed by the port or by the country, this project would benefit from the expertise and operational support of Océole. A commitment that Océole wishes to replicate with other ports such as Brest and Lorient.

Meetings to promote the emergence of a local subcontracting industry

Stimulating the Breton wind energy industrial ecosystem also requires the activation of a network of subcontractors who are informed about the challenges and needs of this sector. This is why Océole has chosen to organise a series of B2B meetings in Brittany and the Pays-de-la-Loire. On 2 February 2022 in Lorient, a bilateral Brittany-Norway meeting was also organised in partnership with Bretagne Développement Innovation and Enterprise Europe Network Ouest in order to stimulate exchanges between Norwegian offshore wind actors and potential Breton subcontractors. These were extremely fruitful meetings that Océole plans to hold more often in the future.

Following on from the exchanges organised between Breton and Norwegian players in the sector, a partnership agreement was signed in May 2022 by Norwegian Offshore Wind, Bretagne Ocean Power and Equinor. This agreement notably provides for the organisation of exchange missions in Norway for Breton companies, facilitated partnerships between Norwegian and Breton companies as well as partnerships between ports to meet the challenges of industrialisation of floating wind energy in Europe. A protocol which should therefore facilitate the access of Breton companies to the Norwegian wind energy market and enable the complementary development of the port offers of the two territories for the European market.

« The signing of this agreement is a strong signal for the development of an offshore wind industry in Brittany. It is a concrete prospect for the development of local know-how for French floating wind farms, but also for exports. » Ken Ilacqua, Offshore Wind Manager, Q ENERGY France

Media contact :

L’AgenceRP (Press relation): qenergy@lagencerp.com

Raya Rizk : 07 85 15 22 40

Camille Techer : 07 62 15 76 99