The European Commission has awarded just over EUR 3.9 million (GBP3.1 million) to support tidal energy testing and demonstration in the sea off Orkney in Scotland. Awarded under the Fast Track to Innovation (FTI) scheme, the funding is split between two projects - the InToTidal project and Ocean 2G.

InToTidal, which is led by Dutch tidal turbine company Tocardo, will demonstrate integrated deployment solutions for the company’s tidal turbines. The project’s partners are the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), Leask Marine, and Ifremer. Meanwhile, the Ocean 2G project is being led by Spain’s Magallanes and brings together the EMEC, Leask Marine and ABB to help develop the second generation of Magallanes tidal technology.

“This is fantastic news for the ocean energy sector. I’m delighted that the EU is supporting full-scale testing and demonstration to help progress towards a commercially-viable industry,” EMEC Commercial Director Oliver Wragg commented in a statement.

“It’s hard to secure private investment for real sea testing of ocean energy technologies so grant support is vital at this stage of development. Combine this with EMEC's wave and tidal testing infrastructure which has been designed to help minimise the cost of ‘getting metal wet’, we have a winning combination to prove technology performance and help leverage private investment into the sector,” he said.

The Fast Track to Innovation (FTI) scheme provides Horizon 2020 funding for bottom-up proposals for close-to-market innovation activities in any area of technology or application. The scheme aims to reduce time from idea to market, stimulate the participation of first-time applicants to EU research funding, and increase private sector investment in research and innovation.