Until now, generating sustainable electricity in the Netherlands was mainly done with solar panels and wind turbines.
ADVERTISEMENTTwo Dutch companies have received over €2m each for the development of tidal energy projects in the Wadden Sea region.
Equinox will use the €2.4m received to develop a pre-commercial turbine by 2025 and expand its global footprint to meet the growing demand for clean energy solutions.
Pieter de Haas, the chief executive of Equinox, said: “This is a significant step towards making the marine energy sector a commercial reality.”
Equinox has vowed to revolutionise the energy sector by providing a consistent and reliable power source.
The second company, Seaqurrent, has been given €2.5m to develop its kite that rotates figure eights on a cable, which is connected to a generator on the seabed. It’s a multi-wing design that enables a single Tidalkite unit to capture more energy than conventional tidal technologies, making it feasible for deployment in various locations globally. It will be launched near the southwest tip of Ameland.
The current in the sea, as a result of ebb and flow, is converted into electricity. However, to make tidal energy profitable, an entire park must be built on the seabed, just like with offshore wind.
European companies, including Equinox and Seaqurrent, are currently responsible for 70% of the world's ocean energy capacity.
The energy farms the companies plan to build could help meet a target set by the EU to establish ocean energy farms capable of producing 100 megawatts by 2027, scaling up to a staggering 40 gigawatts by 2050.
This would amount to approximately 10% of Europe's power demands, as previously reported by Euronews.
