A fluvial turbine test-farm project of 2MW: a world premiere!

Topics : Energy production - Hydropower and Windpower

Release :04/05/2017

HydroQuest, in partnership with CMN and CNR, has developed a project of a fluvial turbine test-farm into the Rhône river.

In the field of "Programme d'Investissements d'Avenir" and a call for project launched in 2015 by ADEME1; CNR2, HydroQuest and CMN3 have joined together in a partnership to create a plant of 39 fluvial hydro power turbines into the Rhône River on the downstream of a dam at Génissiat. It will be carried out in 2018.

  • A consortium for a challenging project

To carry out this project, CNR has partnered with HydroQuest, a SME from Grenoble with an expertise of hydrokinetic turbine's design, production and marketing ; and with CMN which is active on hydrokinetic field since 2012 as an industrial partner of HydroQuest. CNR will take charge of exploitation, machine maintenance and engineering of the hydrokinetic farm and CMN will provide the hydrokinetic turbines' assembly at Cherbourg.

This innovative industrial project is born within the Innov'Action project from CNR and has been conceived to develop an additional energy source to on-site solar panels at Haut-Rhône. 39 hydrokinetic turbines, immersed on 2 kilometers, are expected to total more than 2 megawatts (MW) for an average annual production of 6 700 megawatt hour, which represents the annual consumption of 2 700 inhabitants and 2 000 tons of carbon emissions avoided per year.

  • HydroQuest: innovative hydro power turbines

Founded in 2010 in partnership with LEGI and G2ELAB (two laboratories members of Carnot "Énergies du futur" institute), HydroQuest designs and installs innovative hydroelectric turbines which are using kinetic energy from rivers and ocean currents which are non-exploitable with traditionnal hydroelectric machines. Laboratories have patented specific hydro power turbines with a vertical axis of rotation and which are using kinetic energy from fluvial currents to produce electricity with competitive costs. HydroQuest aims to create a French industrial sector in the field of fluvial hydroelectricity. HydroQuest aims also to expand its products internationally and besides, plans to install its products on various rivers at Angola, Brazil and aslo in Burma.

More information about HydroQuest.


1ADEME: the French Environment and Energy Management Agency
2 CNR: a French Agency which produces 25% of France's hydroelectricity (concessionary of the Rhone for hydroelectricity production)
3 CMN: Naval ship design and construction - Marine energy

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