Hammering the steel piles of offshore wind turbines into the seabed is loud, and the noise and turbidity affect underwater ecosystems, according to Greenov-ITES's EIC project. The company, founded in Vannes, Brittany, in January 2021, designed the SubSea Quieter, a noise mitigation system for pile installation that its EIC project described as "disruptive, low cost and highly efficient".
The European Innovation Council granted €2,392,688 towards a €3.8 million project from January 2023 to December 2025. The final report says the full-scale offshore design was finalised, five new patents were filed, a small-scale test at Saint-Nazaire in early 2024 gave "very positive acoustic and operational results", and a joint industry partnership was signed with four major companies. It reports noise reductions of 12 to 20 decibels at low frequencies. The sea demonstration, the project's main proof, was rescheduled to "late 2026 / early 2027". In September 2025 Greenov-ITES transferred the SubSea Quieter business, including the EIC project, to a new company, Sealence, according to a notice in the official gazette BODACC.
Company file
- Legal entity
- Greenov-ITES SAS, 892 947 847 RCS Vannes
- Founded
- January 2021
- President
- Damien Demoor
- New company
- Sealence SAS, 945 146 694 RCS Nantes, registered June 2025
- Product
- SubSea Quieter (SSQ) noise mitigation system
- EIC project
- SEALENCE, 1 Jan 2023 to 31 Dec 2025
- EIC funding
- Grant first
Where the Business Stands Now
Sealence, registered in Nantes in June 2025, took over the SubSea Quieter activity and six projects built on it, including the EIC project, with effect from 1 July 2025. The transfer covered €4.27 million of assets and €3.88 million of liabilities, a net €388,458 for which Greenov-ITES received shares in Sealence. The final EIC report says the company launched a private equity fundraising in mid-2025 and signed agreements in the US, Ireland, Norway and northern Europe. In January 2025 it held a workshop with the French grid operator RTE, Chantiers de l'Atlantique and Heerema on adapting the system for offshore substation foundations.
The Technology: A Curtain Around the Pile
The SubSea Quieter is used during pile driving, and a doctoral thesis on its membrane material was completed during the project. The report says the system outperforms current noise abatement systems at low frequencies down to 50 hertz; that claim will be tested in the delayed sea demonstration.
What the EIC Project Promised, and What CORDIS Shows
The project promised to bring the SubSea Quieter to market for offshore wind installation. It finished the design, filed patents and built an industry partnership. The full-scale sea demonstration did not take place within the project. CORDIS still lists the project as signed.
- Full-scale designDeliveredPer final report.
- PatentsFiledFive new.
- Sea demonstrationPostponedTo 2026-27.
- Commercial useNone yetNo installation announced.
The Money
Greenov-ITES has filed its accounts confidentially since 2021, so no revenue or profit is public, according to Pappers. It also received about €1.46 million from the French environment agency ADEME. The outcome of the 2025 private fundraising has not been announced.
What Cannot Be Checked
Questions for the EIC
Why the EIC project was moved into a new company, whether the EIC approved the transfer, the results of the 2025 fundraising and when the sea demonstration will take place are not public.
Why Europe Should Care
The EIC funded a French solution that now sits in a new company, with the decisive sea test still ahead.
What the project promised
A low-cost, efficient system to cut offshore wind installation noise and turbidity.
What the record shows
A finished design, new patents, a small-scale test, a postponed sea demonstration and a transfer to Sealence.
The Verdict
Designed, not yet proven at sea
Greenov-ITES did the design work the EIC paid for. The real test, a full-scale demonstration offshore, was pushed past the end of the project, and the business now continues under another company.
Greenov-ITES, Sealence and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.
