A Nantes start-up has developed equipment that drastically reduces the acoustic power of work carried out underwater, in the open sea. A crucial innovation to protect marine fauna while construction sites are increasing in the oceans, particularly for off shore wind turbines.
In one of the basins of the port of Saint-Nazaire, no boat under construction, but a strange prototype under test for a few weeks. At the center of a metal scaffolding, an innovative underwater noise reduction system.
“It is a membrane which will introduce 3 cm of air which will be trapped within the membrane and this membrane will create a break in impedance, therefore a change in speed which will create this capacity to reduce noise, explains Damien Demoor, president and founder of Greenov, inside the membrane, we have something noisy, outside, we have something which will be between 94 and 99% less noisy than what is inside. the interior.
We have an acoustic efficiency which really makes it possible to very effectively protect ecosystems from these noises introduced by human activities.
Damien Demoor
Founding President of Greenov
Offshore wind power, a start-up is testing a system in Saint-Nazaire to reduce underwater noise pollution
Offshore wind power, a start-up is testing a system in Saint-Nazaire to reduce underwater noise pollution • © France 3 Pays de la Loire
Preserve marine fauna
A sort of wall against underwater noise which spreads four times faster than in the air and much further. Aquatic fauna, cetaceans, but also fish, are the first victims of underwater work.
Three years of research and development, a budget of one million euros, enabled the Nantes start-up to test this prototype, first on land, then in water, using a multitude of microphones. The patented solution will soon be commercialized.
“We are going to target two main types of market. Firstly, the port or coastal works which will allow, with the system, to confine the noise and turbidity implemented by the works, explains Gwenaël Desse, responsible for Greenov development, and then the second major market is the offshore wind power. We will reduce the underwater noise generated during the construction phase of the wind turbine foundations.”
The world of silence will be less and less so with the development of offshore wind farms. 50 are announced only off the coast of France by 2050.
