Funditec Participates in NEMMO: Optimizing the Design and Performance of Tidal Turbine Blades

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NEMMO (Next Evolution in Materials and Models for Ocean Energy) is a European project financed by the Horizon 2020 framework programme. The main objective is to improve the efficiency of floating tidal turbines that generate energy from tidal forces. To this end, the objective is to reduce costs by designing larger, lighter and more durable turbine blades to reach capacities of more than 2 MW.

Funditec is one of the partners of the project consortium together with other R&D centres and laboratories such as Tecnalia (coordinator), ITAINNOVA, CANOE, Technion, Dublin City University or ADERA and companies such as INPRE, SP NANO or SAGRES.  This multidisciplinary team has been working on the project since April 2019 with a budget of € 4,998’007.50 (under grant agreement No. 815278).

Funditec oversees the development of a coating with better resistance to fouling and permanent biocidal activity based on polyurethane matrices designed and synthesized in its own laboratories.

The development of NEMMO will last until September 30, 2022 and the main result that is intended to be obtained is a 70% reduction in the Levelised Cost of Energy for tidal energy through:

  • 50% Capital Expenditure reduction: lower material consumption and 25% lower cost of new compounds
  • 2% less Fixed Charge Rates: greater understanding of failure and fatigue mechanisms and more durable compounds with 66% longer service life
  • 40% reduction in Operation and Maintenance: reduced cavitation wear, biofouling and aging
  • 20% increase in Annual Energy Performance: improved hydrodynamic performance and higher inlet flow rates for the tidal turbine

This project is highly beneficial as advances in the state of the art in design, modelling, materials and testing will have a wide range of applications for those working in research and in the tidal energy supply chain.


This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and Innovation programme under grant agreement 815278. This publication reflects only the author’s views and the European Union is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.