Blog: WES award £7m for WEC PTO systems
Wave Energy Scotland (WES) has announced the list of successful contract awards following its first international, competitive open call for innovative Power Take-Off (PTO) systems for wave energy devices. Over £7m has been awarded to 16 technology developers and consortia, from countries including UK, USA, Italy and Sweden, all looking for investment to advance their technology through rigorous testing and, in time, towards commercialisation. Contracted amounts range from £78,000 for concept optimisation, up to £2m for later stage prototype development.
EMEC will continue to support a range of projects under the WES calls, and is delighted to be a partner in a couple of the successful projects:
Project: HiDrive – A direct drive PTO for resonant wave energy converters
Lead partner: CorPower Ocean
Description: This project aims at delivering a highly reliable PTO solution using innovative control technology offering a step-change improvement in performance and cost to the wave energy sector. The unique PTO technology will be taken through the next step of structured verification, guided by best practice support from EMEC, the experience from offshore power generation company Iberdrola Engineering and by the expertise in cost modelling of University of Edinburgh.
Other partners: Iberdrola Engineering & Construction, EMEC & University of Edinburgh
Contract amount: £1,893,461
Project: Concept optimisation of a variable damping linear PTO
Lead partner: Oscilla Power Ltd.
Description: In this project, Oscilla Power Ltd will optimise and demonstrate its high reliability, variable damping linear drivetrain concept, which combines a linear hydraulic “gearbox” with either a conventional or an advanced linear generator. Designed for use in Oscilla Power’s Triton (TM) wave energy converter, but applicable to a wide range of other device types, the linear drivetrain will enable high energy capture and low maintenance costs, allowing the industry to achieve its goals of sub £150/MWh levelised cost of electricity.
Other partners: Oscilla Power, Inc. & EMEC
Contract amount: £499,998
EMEC would like to congratulate all successful applicants, a full list of which is available on the Wave Energy Scotland website.
Fergus Ewing, Minster for Energy, the Scottish Government commented:
‘‘This is a hugely significant day for Wave Energy Scotland. WES is running the biggest technology programme the wave sector has ever seen. Since the launch last year, there has been global interest in what the new organisation was planning to do. Therefore I am delighted to see the first contracts being awarded to technology developers. Scottish businesses are involved in the overwhelming majority of the projects and this is testament to the number of innovative companies operating in Scotland. The Scottish Government is committed to supporting this important sector and we are confident that Scotland will continue to hold its world class status as a thriving country for wave energy technology development.”
Tim Hurst, Managing Director, Wave Energy Scotland said:
“WES’ ambition is to accelerate the wave industry in Scotland and maintain our leading global position. The interest we received was truly international and as the finalists show, the call has driven a significant level of collaboration between a wide range of interested parties. We can now get started on delivering material outcomes for the sector through these projects and we are looking forward to supporting them all going forward.”
Steve Thomson, Chair of the WES Advisory Group commented:
“It is really exciting to be part of WES and to be helping support this innovative sector. The interest that the PTO call received is really impressive and the quality of applications showed that there are some disruptive ideas out there that will help make wave energy a commercial reality. WES’ role is to nurture these and help get them across the line to create a prosperous wave energy sector in Scotland.”
HIE/WES press release: International search for innovative power take-off systems for wave energy results in £7m award to technology innovators
About Wave Energy Scotland (WES)
Wave Energy Scotland is focused on the development of low cost, efficient and reliable components and subsystems that can be shared by wave energy technology developers. WES was set up as 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.
For further information, visit: Wave Energy Scotland
