“Dikes that produce electricity”: France is testing a pioneer technology in Boulogne
Installation of the DIKWE prototype on the Sainte-Anne mole in Brest, testing the energy conversion of the waves via a submersible component integrated into the dike. © Ifremer / Olivier Dugornay (2021)
Produce electricity from the waves, while protecting the ports from their fury? This is the bet of the Dikwe project, being installed in Boulogne-sur-Mer. An innovation signed GEPS Techno, Ifremer and Legendre Group, which could make French coasts renewable energy … in the breeze.
In Boulogne-sur-Mer, the first wave energy producing dike is under construction
In Boulogne-sur-Mer, the port landscape is about to change. Not by the shape of the boats, but by that of the dike. The DIKWE project – skillful contraction of “dike” and “wave” – concretizes a decade of research between Ifremer, GEPS Techno and Legendre Group. The idea? Integrate mobile panels into the very structure of the breakwater, capable of capturing the energy of the waves to convert it into electricity.
Prototype of the DIKWE system on a 1/4 scale, tested in real conditions on the Ifremer test site in Sainte-Anne-du-Portzic, near Brest. © GEPS Techno
Concretely, these panels are oscillating shutters, permanently shaken by swell. Each movement is absorbed and then transformed into energy thanks to an integrated conversion mechanism. The installation does not occupy an additional space, does not bother navigation or fauna, and does not depend on the wind or the sun. The dream of engineers? A positive energy dike capable of producing more than it consumes.
According to the first estimates, the device captures up to 60 % of the energy of the waves. It is equipped with sensors to measure the waves, the production of energy and the resistance of the structure.
The project was not born yesterday. As early as 2012, GEPS Techno solicited the expertise of Ifremer to make his idea viable without disturbing the marine ecosystem. After years of modeling and tests – especially on a 1/15th scale, then 1/4th in the Brest basin – the life -size demonstrator finally comes to life. It is under construction in Boulogne-sur-Mer, with a clear objective: to prove that ports can become discreet but effective energy hubs.
And the rest? The Wave-Op joint venture, born from the alliance between Legendre and GEPS Techno, now aims to generalize technology throughout the coast. By transforming coastal defense lines into energy sources, France may start a turning point in its maritime and energy strategy-noise, without blades, but with waves.
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