French wave energy technology developer Seaturns has launched what it claims is the world’s first pre-commercial offshore wave energy project connected to a national electricity grid, with a pilot installation now underway in Mauritius.
The project’s first phase involves the deployment of a 2 MW array of wave energy converters (WECs) linked to the Mauritian electricity grid, designed to demonstrate the industrial performance and reliability of Seaturns’ proprietary technology under real operating conditions. Depending on results achieved during this phase, an additional 8 MW of capacity could be added, bringing total output to 10 MW.
Seaturns has been selected as a winner of the NSEPCRET Round 3 call for projects — a national programme led by the Mauritius Renewable Energy Agency (MARENA) to support innovative renewable energy technologies. The selection comes with a power purchase agreement with Mauritius’ national utility, the Central Electricity Board.
Lawrence Sigaud, General Manager of Seaturns in charge of Business Development, said Mauritius was chosen for its significant wave energy resource and its status as a country committed to innovation, noting that the project would support the development of the wave energy market across Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean region. Seaturns is separately conducting a full-scale prototype demonstration in France’s Atlantic coast, which began at the end of 2025 and will continue through 2026 in partnership with the Grand Port Maritime de Bordeaux.
The company plans to develop several commercial pilot farms by 2030. Seaturns founder Vincent Tournerie described the Mauritius project as “a perfect continuation” of the ongoing French trials and “the ideal technical and commercial demonstration for our future farms.”
Source: offshore-energy.biz