- Chantiers de l’Atlantique, EDF power solutions, Heerema Marine Contractors, Menck, RTE, Sealence (a Greenov subsidiary) and Smulders have joined forces to develop a noise mitigation system for offshore operations
- Searénité, a collective project serving the environmental cause of marine biodiversity
- Each partner brings complementary expertise to develop this innovative technology
- A stakeholder group is formed to allow industry players to take the chance to participate
Nantes, April 7, 2026 – Chantiers de l’Atlantique, EDF power solutions, Heerema Marine Contractors, Menck, RTE, Sealence and Smulders have formed a consortium to develop a cutting-edge noise mitigation system for offshore wind operations.
Addressing a growing challenge collectively
The growth of offshore renewable energy presents an important opportunity to further strengthen our commitment to responsible operations. Understanding and managing underwater noise becomes increasingly essential to protecting marine ecosystems. Activities such as ship traffic, sonar use, and offshore construction can affect marine life over large distances. Offshore wind farm installation is one of these activities.
While industry players have already implemented mitigation measures, Searénité aims to go further, introducing advanced technologies tailored to the marine environment to minimize potential impacts even more.
The solution
The objective of the Searénité project is to adapt the SubSea Quieter®, an innovative technology designed to reduce underwater noise, to the specific requirements of floating wind turbine deep anchoring and offshore electrical substations foundations.
Developed and patented by Sealence, SubSea Quieter® uses flexible panels made from an air-inflatable membrane. These panels are deployed underwater around offshore foundations during their installation, acting as an acoustic shield to reduce underwater noise. The result is effective noise reduction through a simple, economical, and ecological solution adapted to deep-water installations. This represents a major technological advance toward sustainable coexistence between energy development and marine biodiversity preservation.
Collaboration and expertise
The Searénité consortium brings together European players with complementary expertise:
- Chantiers de l’Atlantique – Engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning of electrical offshore substations.
- EDF power solutions – Environmental integration and offshore wind expertise, providing specifications and regulatory insights to ensure compatibility with future commercial offshore wind farms.
- Heerema Marine Contractors – Technical advisory support for specification and design, focusing on mechanical and operational integration offshore, and installation interfaces.
- Menck – Technical advisory support for acoustic modelling, interface design, and deployment procedure development.
- RTE – Definition of requirements, technology validation at each stage, and provision of a real-world demonstration site.
- Sealence (consortium leader) – Design, production, and demonstration of a SubSea Quieter® version adapted for jacket foundation and floating turbine deep anchoring.
- Smulders – Technical advisory support, focusing on the design optimization of the jacket.
Searénité timeline
Year one will focus on specifying SubSea Quieter® for floating wind turbines anchors, offshore substations, and wind turbines using jacket-type foundations. Activities include design work, acoustic modeling, and hydrodynamic behavior analysis under wave and current conditions. Pressurized tank tests will validate acoustic performance down to 300 m water depth.
Subsequent years will involve prototype production and testing in 2028 at the Port of Saint-Nazaire, followed by refinement and improvement. Subject to successful evaluations, a full-scale demonstration is also foreseen during the installation of an electrical offshore substation.
Funding and industry engagement
The Searénité project was awarded a grant of €7.1 million.
This project is funded by the French State as part of France 2030 operated by ADEME.
A stakeholders group has been established to share key results with offshore wind players. Companies can join by providing financial support.
All questions related to the Searénité project should be transmitted to Sealence: gwenael.desse@sealence.green.
About Chantiers de l’Atlantique
Thanks to the expertise of its teams and its network of subcontractors, associated with its first-rate industrial facilities, Chantiers de l’Atlantique is a key leader in the fields of design, integration, testing and turnkey delivery of cruise ships, naval vessels, electrical substations for offshore wind farms and services to the fleets. The company is at the core of the challenges of tomorrow, designing and building today ships whose environmental performance exceeds the most drastic standards, as well as equipment for offshore wind power that make it a major player in the energy transition.
Contact: Christine Romieux – christine.romieux@chantiers-atlantique.com
About EDF power solutions
Bringing together the businesses of EDF Renewables and EDF Group International Division, EDF power solutions is an international energy player which develops, builds and operates renewable and low-carbon energy production facilities as well as flexible power and electricity transmission solutions.
As a major player in the energy transition worldwide, EDF power solutions deploys, within EDF, competitive, responsible and value-creating projects. In 25 countries, our teams show their commitment to local stakeholders every day, adding their expertise and capacity for innovation to the fight against climate change.
EDF power solutions operates 31GW of gross installed power capacity worldwide. Leveraging on its technological and commercial skills as well as local knowledge, EDF power solutions develops innovative offers, to support the move towards decarbonisation and develop more efficient electrical systems.
EDF power solutions offer a large range of technologies to produce low carbon electricity (wind power, solar, hydraulics, biomass), increase power system flexibility (battery storage, PSP, low carbon thermal hybrid solution etc.) and to reduce our customers’ carbon footprint (electrical mobility, hydrogen, offgrid solutions, mini-grids, etc.).
For more information: www.edf-powersolutions.com
Follow us on LinkedIn: edf-power-solutions
Contact: Emilien Lacroix – emilien.lacroix@edf-re.fr
About Sealence
Sealence is a subsidiary of Greenov, a French mission-driven company, founded in 2021 and based in Nantes and Vannes, developing innovative technologies to reduce the impact of human activities at sea, particularly within the energy transition framework. It develops innovative solutions to protect the oceans: noise reduction, ship/whale collision prevention, and biofouling mitigation. A winner of several European programs, the company now has 21 employees. Its core business lies in designing innovative and practical technological solutions that balance maritime economic development and marine ecosystem preservation.
Sealence is the Greenov affiliate company just created to finalize the SubSea Quieter full-scale demonstrations and to bring the solution to market.
Contact: Gwenael Desse – gwenael.desse@sealence.green
About Heerema Marine Contractors
Heerema Marine Contractors is a global leader in offshore energy solutions, known for its expertise in installing and decommissioning complex offshore structures. With over six decades of experience, Heerema executes projects safely, innovatively, and sustainably across the entire value chain, from design and engineering to logistics, project management, and global operations. The company owns and operates four of the world’s largest crane vessels, enabling it to tackle the most demanding offshore projects with precision and at scale.
Contact: Laura Craanen – lcraanen@hmc-heerema.com
About Menck
Menck, Acteon’s Marine Foundations business line, engineers marine foundation installation solutions to support and fast-track the offshore project ambitions. Backed by decades of experience and a consultative, solutions-oriented mindset, Menck optimize designs to minimize safety, environmental and commercial risks while safeguarding and delivering project execution efficiencies and uptime. Menck’s expert, data-driven insights and unrivalled technology can shape project critical decisions and accelerate the journey to project success.
For more information visit: acteon.com
Contact: Guste Kelly – guste.kelly@acteon.com
About RTE
RTE is France’s electricity transmission system operator. Through its public service mission, RTE guarantees, every day and at all times, the supply of electricity throughout the country and ensures, in real time, the management of electricity flows and the balance between production and consumption. To connect territories and industries to electricity production, RTE deploys, onshore and offshore, essential infrastructure to decarbonise our economy and support the energy transition. In the face of climate, economic and environmental challenges that require major transformations, RTE maintains and develops more than 106,000 kilometres of high and extra-high-voltage power lines. This grid, the most extensive in Europe, includes 37 interconnections with neighbouring countries and 50 cross-border lines. Thanks to the commitment of its 10,000 employees across the country, RTE works every day to make the power grid a driving force behind a carbon-free France. For more information, please visit RTE, France’s Transmission System Operator | RTE
Contact: Contact Us | RTE
About Smulders
Smulders is a multidisciplinary construction company with more than 20 years of experience in the offshore wind industry. Operating production and assembly facilities in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Poland and the United Kingdom, Smulders delivers EPC solutions for offshore wind foundations and substations. Smulders operates as a true systems integrator, combining in‑house structural, mechanical and electrical engineering to realise turnkey offshore projects.
The company has an extensive track record, with over 3,000 transition pieces, 160 jackets and more than 45 substations delivered worldwide.
Contact: Britt Weckx – britt.weckx@smulders.com
