Sabella SAS was a French company which developed and manufactured tidal stream turbines. It was a SME, founded in 2008, and based in Quimper, Brittany. Sabella tested two turbines at sea. Firstly, the D03 in the Odet estuary between 2008 and 2009, which was the first tidal stream turbine connected to the French electricity grid. They then developed and tested the larger, commercial-scale, D10 turbine from 2015 onwards in the Fromveur Passage. As of October 2024, it remains operational, although operated by Inyanga Marine Energy Group. The Sabella company was placed into receivership in October 2023, and liquidated on 19 January 2024 by the Commercial Court of Quimper.
History The original concept was conceived in 1999. In 2000 the company Hydrohélix Énergies was formed, and conducted numerous studies. The Sabella consortium was established in 2007 by the current shareholders. A year later, they founded the company Sabella SAS. In 2008, Sabella launched the first French underwater tidal turbine, the Sabella D03, which was installed near Bénodet, at the mouth of the Odet Estuary. The experience gained and the results obtained with this project allowed the company to think about a full-scale pre-commercial turbine, the Sabella D10. In 2009, Sabella responded to a call for "Marine Energy Demonstrators" from Agence de l'environnement et de la maîtrise de l'énergie (ADEME). Sabella won this in partnership with Ifremer, Veolia Environnement and Bureau Veritas, enabling the project to be partly financed by Investissements d'Avenir. Between 2013 and 2014, the Sabella D10 was built then assembled in the Port of Brest in the first half of 2015. In June 2015, the turbine was immersed in the Passage du Fromveur, off the island of Ushant (Ouessant). After a year of testing, the turbine was recovered on 13 July 2016. On 30 June 2014, Sabella finalised a €4.3 million fund raiser, with capital from two investment funds, Go Capital Amorçage and Emertec 5, as well as the CMI Group, the Société Geofinanciere and the Farinia Group. Since then, BPI France and General Electric have also invested in Sabella. In 2016, BPI France invested €8 million. In 2019, Sabella was one of the first set of companies in the Energy Transition Accelerator run by ADEME and BPI France. In January 2021, Sabella acquired the technologies developed by General Electric as GE Renewable Energy, including by Rolls Royce, Alstom, and Tidal Generation Ltd (TGL). In October 2023, the company was placed into receivership. Then in December, partner organisation Entech, also based in Quimper, acquired Sabella's assets and hired the 19 employees. However Entech did not acquire the D10 turbine, which was supplying about 75% of the power needs of Ushant. This turbine was later acquired and operated by the British company Inyanga Marine Energy Group. In January 2024, the company was liquidated.
The technology Sabella's technology is based on the principles of technological simplicity and robustness, giving it greater reliability and lower maintenance requirements than more sophisticated solutions. The main characteristics are as follows:
Symmetrical blades, which allow the turbine to capture both the ebb and flood tide without having to rotate through 180 degrees. Modular architecture: the Sabella turbine is composed of two parts, with a heavy gravity base placed on the seabed ensuring stability of the turbine against the water current. The turbine is mounted on top of this, and is much lighter, which allows it to be easily replaced for maintenance. Generator with direct drive and permanent magnets, to avoid any complex mechanical element subject to additional failure and to more regular maintenance. Turbine placed on the seabed, which allows it to be invisible from the surface, not to interfere with navigation, and be less exposed to hydrodynamic loads linked to the wave swell in intermediate water depths. The D10 turbine was mounted on a tubular steel tripod foundation approximately 23 m wide, with the turbine 12.5 m above the seabed.
Sabella D03
The Sabella D03 was an experimental project led by the Sabella consortium with the support of local public bodies and ADEME, and with technical support from Ifremer. It consisted of designing, constructing, and testing a 1/3-scale prototype tidal turbine. It was submerged off the coast of Bénodet, in the Odet Estuary, in April 2008 for a period of one year. The rotor had a diameter of 3 metres (10 ft), and was rated at 10 kW power. Numerous tests and measurements were carried out, including demonstrating its safety towards fish and its low noise . This tidal turbine is now on the forecourt of Oceanopolis in Brest, as an educational object.
Sabella D10 demonstrator
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