A consortium made up of Chantiers de l’Atlantique, Fondation OPEN‑C, France Energies Marines, GE Vernova, Nexans, RTE and SuperGrid Institute has launched the Raccordement HVDC Offshore Distant Électrique (RHODÉ) research and development (R&D) project.
The RHODÉ project aims to advance floating high-voltage direct current (HVDC) floating connections for large-scale offshore wind farms in deep water.
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It has received a €16m ($18.5m) grant from the French Government as part of the France 2030 programme operated by ADEME.
The RHODÉ initiative focuses on creating future electrical connections for offshore wind farms situated at depths exceeding 100m and located significant distances from shore.
Under these conditions, conventional fixed-bottom substations face technical and economic constraints, contributing to the need for floating HVDC electrical substations.
RHODÉ has two main objectives focused on advancing offshore grid technology. The first is to develop and validate key technological components such as transformers, gas-insulated substations, offshore alternating current/direct current (AC/DC) converter stations and dynamic HVDC cables, with designs set for 320kV and 525kV floating substations.
Second, the project seeks to support the development of a French industrial sector specialising in high-power floating offshore electrical connections that can compete in domestic and export markets.
The R&D project is structured around several work packages, covering stages from defining technical requirements and use cases through to offshore demonstration trials.
Activities include advanced design, numerical modelling, hydrodynamic basin tests on scale models, laboratory and environmental testing, and at-sea testing to assess operational feasibility in areas such as installation, maintenance and decommissioning.
The consortium brings together a range of expertise across the offshore electrical connection value chain.
Chantiers de l’Atlantique provides system integration and construction expertise for topside and foundations, while France Energies Marines specialises in mooring design, digital twin modelling and environmental impact analysis.
Fondation OPEN-C manages offshore test sites and supports prototype deployment, GE Vernova focuses on AC/DC substations and related systems, while Nexans will be responsible for dynamic HVDC subsea cables.
RTE will oversee the public electricity transmission network and SuperGrid Institute will work on insulation solutions and testing for HVDC systems.
RHODÉ aims to bridge the gap between ongoing research and future commercial applications of high-capacity floating HVDC connections. These connections are expected to play a significant role in deep-water offshore wind deployment from 2040 onwards.
