Tocardo Tidal Turbines, producer of tidal and free-flow water turbines, has reached agreement for the acquisition of Swanturbines Intellectual Property, including the patented subsea tidal turbine technology and deployment methods. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed

“For a long time, Tocardo has been impressed by Swan’s technology, which is complementary to our own tested tidal energy technology,” said Hans van Breugel, CEO of Tocardo. “In particular, Swan’s installation technology¹ is an important addition to our portfolio and offering to our clients.”

According to Breugel, Tocardo is one of the few companies in the world to be commercially manufacturing and marketing tidal turbines. The Netherlands-based company has closed deals to sell its technology in Nepal and to install tidal turbines in the UK, Canada and South Korea with a total capacity exceeding 50 MW. In fact, Tocardo was recently appointed as one of two preferred partners to supply tidal turbines for a major new renewable energy initiative near the Isle of Man.

Last week, Tocardo installed three of its T1 tidal turbines in the Dutch ‘Afsluitdijk’, a 32 km-long primary sea defence, with a capacity of more than 300 kW, producing electricity for about 100 households. Another Tocardo tidal turbine installed in the Afsluitdijk has already been producing electricity for more than six years.

1. Swanturbines generate electricity from ocean currents by way of a proprietary method of mounting the turbines to a support structure.