Irish companies GKinetic Energy and DesignPro have secured €2.5 million EU grant to commercialize new range of run-of-river hydrokinetic turbines.
The funding, secured through the second phase of Horizon 2020 SME Instrument, will be used to commercialize small scale river turbines of up to 100 kW utilizing GKinetic’s technology.
GKinetic previously engaged DesignPro to build its prototype device, which was later deployed in Limerick Docks, Ireland.
The project will see an investment of €2.7 million, creating up to 15 jobs during the project development stage and 50 jobs after commercial roll out, according to DesignPro.
GKinetic will be working with DesignPro in the research and development aspects of the project using the opportunity to collect valuable data that is expected to enable scaling up of these devices to utility size machines.
This project will also allow for the collection of relevant data for environmental impact purposes, and see the companies working closely with other stakeholders in the marine environment, DesignPro said.