Breakthrough in Blue Energy Research by French Scientists
As green energy stocks start to pick up momentum, researchers in France have made a significant advance in what’s known as “blue energy,” according to the Institut Polytechnique de Paris.
While blue energy isn’t as recognized or developed as other clean energy sources—like solar or wind—the results from a pilot project in France could be pivotal for the energy transition.
Essentially, blue energy is a subset of green energy. The term refers to energy produced from water, specifically from the osmotic power generated at the meeting point of freshwater and saltwater.
The Electrochemical Society notes that the natural pressure created between these two types of water can be converted into electricity.
“Since the planet continuously produces both salt and fresh water, we ought to capitalize on that. It’s a free energy source,” stated ECS Vice Chair Andrew Herring.
Estuaries and deltas are the areas where rivers, containing freshwater, converge with ocean saltwater.
Bruno Mottet and Lydéric Bocquet have spent a decade developing a pilot project in the Rhône delta, where the river flows into the Mediterranean Sea.
According to Polytechnique insights, osmotic energy can be harnessed around the clock, irrespective of weather conditions, and the infrastructure needed for osmotic power plants is simpler compared to that of traditional hydraulic dams.
Recently, Mottet and Bocquet’s startup, Sweetch Energy, launched an osmotic power plant expected to generate approximately 4 terawatt-hours, or 1 billion kilowatt-hours, of electricity annually by late 2023.
Earth.org reported in March on Sweetch Energy’s initiatives to make osmotic power a more viable option within the renewable energy sector. Their advances could potentially make blue energy a highly efficient and cost-effective solution at scale.
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Experts believe osmotic energy could meet approximately “15% of global electricity needs” and that Mottet and Bocquet’s innovations could change the energy landscape dramatically by 2030.
