UK & Sweden: CorPower Ocean sign up to test at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney.
Wednesday, 03 February 2016
Swedish wave energy developer, CorPower Ocean, have signed up to test their novel resonant wave energy converter at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney.
The announcement follows CorPower’s success in Wave Energy Scotland’s (WES) power-take-off (PTO) call that, combined with funding from KIC InnoEnergy and the Swedish Energy Agency, completes a €6.5m Stage 3 funding round for dry rig testing of a half scale prototype system followed by an ocean deployment at EMEC’s scale test site in Scapa Flow.
The project aims to deliver a highly reliable PTO solution using the innovative WaveSpring control technology offering a step-change improvement in performance and cost to the wave energy sector.
The unique technology will be taken through a programme of structured verification guided by best practice support from EMEC, alongside the experience from offshore power generation company Iberdrola Engineering, the University of Edinburgh, and WavEC Offshore Renewables’ expertise in cost and performance modelling.
The project will involve a five-month programme of cyclical dry and wet testing of the system in Orkney, culminating in a performance assessment by EMEC.
Prior to arriving in Orkney, the PTO will undergo a five-month dry test period in Stockholm using the same test rig, thereby significantly de-risking the ocean deployment.
This novel approach to PTO development will incorporate the installation of a bespoke dry test rig at EMEC for hardware-in-the-loop testing. The test rig will have the ability to subject wave devices to the full range of wave loads corresponding to the most challenging sea states.
EMEC Managing Director, Neil Kermode, said:
“We’ve been working closely with CorPower throughout the WES call, and we’re thrilled to continue with that relationship as they progress through the development and testing of their novel PTO system.
“This is a particularly exciting project for EMEC as it includes the installation of additional infrastructure – a PTO dry test rig – near the Scapa Flow wave test site. This test rig will act as a lasting legacy of Corpower’s test programme and WES’ foresight, as it will be available to support the development of other wave and tidal energy converters in the future.”
Patrik Möller, CEO at CorPower said:
“We are very excited to be partnering with EMEC, as they bring immense amounts of experience and lessons learned from previous wave projects on Orkney. Having shown game changing performance in previous stages, expectations are high for this Stage 3 program.
“We have the largest respect for the challenges presented by the ocean environment, and we are working closely with EMEC and the local supply chain on Orkney to make this project highly successful.
“We see a great opportunity to establish a long lasting presence in Scotland.”
Tim Hurst, Managing Director at Wave Energy Scotland said:
“CorPower’s contribution to the WES power take-off (PTO) programme will be invaluable. The design is the most advanced of the PTO projects, and testing with EMEC will afford us the opportunity to follow the test progress closely.
“The HiDrive PTO technology represents an exciting step forward in developing a successful wave energy technology and I’m looking forward to seeing the results.”
Lisa MacKenzie, Marketing & Communications Officer
Editors notes:
About EMEC
Established in 2003, EMEC is the world’s leading facility for testing wave and tidal energy converters in real sea conditions. The centre offers independent, accredited grid-connected test berths for full-scale prototypes, as well as test sites in less challenging conditions for use by smaller scale technologies, supply chain companies, and equipment manufacturers.
To date, more marine energy converters have been deployed in Orkney, Scotland, than at any other single site in the world: EMEC has hosted 16 wave and tidal energy clients (with 25 marine energy devices) spanning 9 countries.
With over 12 years of unprecedented experience, EMEC also offers performance assessments, Environmental Technology Verification (ETV), a range of research and consultancy services, and has facilitated the development of international standards for marine energy.
About CorPower Ocean
CorPower Ocean AB was founded in 2009 to develop wave energy converters (WECs). The company has developed a compact high-efficiency WEC, inspired by the pumping principles of the human heart. Using a new phase control method, the Wave Energy Converters always oscillate in resonance with the incoming waves, strongly amplifying their motion and power capture. Phase controlled oscillation offers an exceptionally high energy density, 5 times higher than conventional WECs without phase control. The technology allows a large amount of energy to be harvested using a small device.
About Wave Energy Scotland
Wave Energy Scotland (WES) is a subsidiary of Highlands and Islands Enterprise and is fully funded by the Scottish Government. The new organisation is seen as a fresh approach to tackling the issues which have proved challenging in the wave energy sector.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 03 February 2016 )
