Tidal power breakthrough as Welsh team builds better blades

30 May 2025

A project in north Wales is working to design better tidal turbine blades that could help tidal energy become more efficient and reliable.

Based at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) Cymru in Broughton, the project brings together Welsh and Spanish partners to improve how tidal turbines perform in harsh marine conditions. The work will focus on making the blades more efficient, longer-lasting and cost-effective.

The collaboration includes Menter Môn and the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult’s Welsh team, alongside Galician firms Magallanes Renovables, which builds marine energy systems, and D3 Applied Technologies, a research group specialising in aerodynamics and hydrodynamics.

Andy Silcox, interim chief technology officer at AMRC, said the project draws on Wales’s strong track record in marine energy and will help lay the foundation for lasting partnerships between Wales and Galicia. He described the effort as a step forward in developing cleaner energy technologies through international cooperation.

The research is one of five projects to receive support through the VInnovate programme, which promotes collaboration between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Europe’s industrial regions. The selected projects will share £1 million in Welsh Government funding.

Rebecca Evans, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, said the project reflects the goals of the Wales Innovates strategy, which aims to strengthen links between government, industry and researchers in key areas like renewable energy. She encourages other organisations to apply for the 2025 round of VInnovate funding.

Wales secured more successful bids than any other region in the 2024 VInnovate round.

The VInnovate programme forms part of the wider Vanguard Initiative, which supports innovation and green growth across European regions.