Press release
03 July 2025
Renewable energy market set for major boost as SKF announces tidal stream breakthrough

Gothenburg, 3 July: Global engineering leader SKF has joined forces with Proteus Marine Renewables to deliver cutting-edge technology for MeyGen. Operated by SAE Renewables, the world’s largest tidal stream array is located in Scotland’s Pentland Firth.

Today, SKF announced a major breakthrough by setting a new world record for tidal turbine performance and reliability. Its systems have operated continuously for over 6 years at 1.5MW without the need for unplanned or disruptive maintenance, marking a new era for the technology being tested by governments around the world. Helping to redefine the capability of renewable ocean energy systems, SKF will help provide a further minimum 59MW addition to the current 6MW pilot array at MeyGen, with ambitions to scale significantly in line with further investment and innovation through 2025 and beyond.

“Tidal stream power offers a significant opportunity for the world to diversify its energy mix whilst reducing its carbon footprint, a key target for governments around the world. Abundant resources coupled with the predictability of tidal flows make it a viable and trusted technology which we are proud to be supporting at such a critical time for the world’s future energy strategy” says, Thomas Fröst, President, Independent and Emerging Business at SKF.

Predictability, Economic Impact, and Global Support

Tidal energy is one of the most predictable renewable resources on the planet, complementing solar and wind power. Given the challenges of maintaining reliability and performance in a harsh ocean environment, SKF has demonstrated a new standard for long-term, dependable energy in a market expected to contribute up to £17 billion and 15,000 jobs to the UK economy alone by 2050 (Offshore Renewable Energy & Imperial College London, Jan 2024 & envirotecmagazine.com, February 2025).

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