On Friday December 13, representatives from Iberdrola came to ENSTA Bretagne to talk to students about the growth in their offshore wind energy business, based on the emblematic launch of the St Brieuc wind farm. This conference is part of the deployment of the new partnership between the manufacturer and the engineering school, the agreement for which was signed this year.
As a developer, builder and operator of the St Brieuc offshore wind farm, through its Ailes Marines subsidiary, Iberdrola and ENSTA Bretagne have forged close ties over the years to train expert engineers in the offshore and marine renewable energy (MRE) fields.
Around half of ENSTA Bretagne's engineering students are interested in the maritime sector and develop skills in marine engineering, making the Brest-based engineering school the leader in this sector in France. Graduates work in a wide range of engineering professions related to their chosen major, from offshore structure design, to robotics and ocean and seabed modeling.
These young men and women with a keen interest in science and technology are much in demand in design offices, program management and R&D departments of SMEs and large companies in the maritime sector.
In addition to training engineers in MRE, ENSTA Bretagne co-supervises two specialization courses devoted entirely to the sector: the Specialized Advanced Master of Science - "MRE Expert" degree opened in 2010, awarded by ENSTA Bretagne, Ecole Navale and IMT Atlantique (1-year course in Brest, after a MSc degree), and the OFFWIND MSc degree from the Polytechnic Institute of Paris due to open in September 2025, run by ENSTA (Bretagne and Paris) and the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (ENPC), devoted to training experts in floating wind energy research and development (2-year course, after a BSc, in Paris and Brest).
On the research front, ENSTA is also making a major contribution to the innovations expected for the development of renewable marine energies, particularly in terms of the durability of naval structures and anchoring lines, as well as autonomous robotic technologies for the positioning, monitoring and maintaining of offshore facilities.
Taken together, these key profiles for Iberdrola led to the signing of the partnership with ENSTA Bretagne on December 13.
A visit to the St Brieuc offshore wind farm is scheduled at the start of 2025. It will enable ENSTA students from both campuses to find out about one of the first 3 offshore wind farms already in operation on the French coastline, which is expected to grow to around 20 once the current construction projects and calls for projects are completed. These wind farms are the result of considerable investment in R&D, and will combine the advantages of both land-based wind power, which is the technology currently deployed, and floating wind power, which is still under development.
