Forward 2030 – Orbital O2 tidal turbine demonstrating at EMEC tidal test site in Orkney

The innovative Scottish technology developer, Orbital Marine Power (Orbital) will lead a pan-European consortium to deliver the €26.7m FORWARD-2030 project, set up to accelerate the commercial deployment of floating tidal energy.

The FORWARD-2030 project consortium will receive €20.5m of grant support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme to develop a multi-vector energy system for the future. This system will combine predictable floating tidal energy, wind generation, grid export, battery storage and green hydrogen production.

The project will see the installation of the next iteration of the Orbital turbine, integrated with a hydrogen production facility and battery storage at EMEC in Orkney. Project partners will design options for integrating large scale tidal power into future net zero energy systems, whilst developing environmental monitoring and marine spatial planning tools for large floating tidal arrays.

Orbital will act as project coordinator as well as lead technology developer for the FORWARD-2030 project.

During the project, Orbital will advance the company’s pioneering floating tidal turbine design, with support from technical partner SKF, who will design and build an optimised fully integrated power train solution, designed for volume manufacture. The partners will deliver several technical innovations targeting increased rated power, enhanced turbine performance and array integration solutions. These innovations will reduce the cost of Orbital’s sector-leading technology even further.

The next generation turbine will be deployed at EMEC’s Fall of Warness tidal test site off Eday in Orkney, where the company has already installed the O2, the world’s most powerful floating turbine, this summer. Once installed next to the O2, the new turbine will be part of the world’s most powerful floating tidal array.

EMEC will host the demonstration, facilitate hydrogen production, deliver a comprehensive environmental monitoring programme, and develop a live environmental monitoring system and test programme.

LABORELEC will assess large scale integration of tidal energy to the European energy system, develop a smart energy management system and an operational forecasting tool. The University of Edinburgh will deliver techno-economic analysis of tidal energy, and the MaREI Centre at University College Cork will be responsible for addressing marine spatial planning issues for wide scale uptake of tidal energy.

Commenting on the award, Oliver Wragg, Orbital’s Commercial Director said:

“This endorsement of the Orbital technology by the European Commission is a huge vote of confidence in our capability to deliver commercially viable tidal energy. We now have a focused and highly experienced consortium dedicated to the delivery of tidal energy and committed to accelerating its future uptake. This alignment of interest sets FORWARD-2030 on course to have a meaningful impact as we build towards large scale commercially viable tidal energy projects.

“Orbital has consistently delivered step changes in cost reduction for the tidal energy sector and the FORWARD-2030 project will enable us to take that next step.”

Rob Flynn, Commercial Manager of EMEC said:

“FORWARD-2030 will show what the energy system of the future looks like by combining offshore renewable generation, with onshore wind and EMEC’s onshore hydrogen and storage facilities – all done in the novel context of an island grid. The project represents a major step forward for the commercialisation of tidal energy and we are delighted it has received this significant stamp of approval from the European Commission.”

Michaël Marique, CEO of ENGIE Laborelec said:

“The integration within a single system of tidal and wind energies, as well as storage by batteries and hydrogen makes FORWARD 2030 a world first. ENGIE Laborelec is proud to participate in this large-scale project, which should make it possible to take a decisive step towards integration of multi-renewable technologies projects with large mixed storage.”

Michael Baumann, Business Development Manager, Marine and Ocean Energy at SKF said:

“We are enthused and excited about the opportunities presented by the funding from the European Commission for this project. We are proud to be part of this exciting journey with Orbital, developing technology and providing integrated power train solutions for environmentally friendly tidal power. FORWARD 2030 will be a great steppingstone in demonstrating commercial and technical competitiveness of tidal energy and is ultimately set out to provide technology readiness for serial production.”

Matthijs Soede, Senior Policy Officer at European Commission DG Research and Innovation said:

“The FORWARD-2030 project has the potential to accelerate the commercial deployment of tidal energy, whilst firming up Europe’s position as a leader in tidal energy, this fits perfectly with our aim to realise the Green Deal. The FORWARD-2030 consortium shows a great ambition in tidal energy development itself, by clearly putting the large scale development of the tidal energy market for 2030 in mind. Its success will be a milestone for the ocean energy sector and will support the clean energy transition in the long-term.”

Commenting on the award, Remi Gruet, CEO of Ocean Energy Europe, said:

“FORWARD 2030 showcases the extraordinary value of continued EU-UK collaboration in ocean energy. This pan-European team saw off stiff competition and will now deliver the world’s first floating tidal farm – an important win for the entire sector.

“With UK participation in Horizon Europe now confirmed, I’m looking forward to even more winning partnerships over the next seven years.”

The Fast-tracking Offshore Renewable energy With Advanced Research to Deploy 2030MW of tidal energy before 2030 (FORWARD-2030) project will run from 2021 to 2025.

In addition to the partnership, two project developers and two utilities have committed to join the project Advisory Board. Between the Advisory Board and Consortium members, 2030MW of tidal energy sites have already been identified and are under various stages of development.

To get up to speed with Orbital’s award-winning technology and see the O2 project in under 2 minutes watch here.

Mocean Energy Blue X in operation at at EMEC Scapa Flow wave energy test site (credit Colin Keldie)

The prospect of generating clean energy from waves moved a step closer as Mocean Energy commenced testing of their Blue X wave energy prototype at EMEC in Orkney.

In the last few days the 20-metre long, 38-tonne wave machine has been towed from Kirkwall to EMEC’s Scapa Flow test site where it has been successfully moored and commissioned for initial sea trials.

Later this summer the Blue X will be moved to EMEC’s grid connected wave test site at Billia Croo on the west coast of Orkney, where it will go through its paces in more rigorous full sea conditions.

Mocean Energy Managing Director Cameron McNatt said:

“This is a very exciting moment as we put our first prototype to test at sea.

“In the days and weeks ahead, we will produce first power and prove how the Blue X machine operates in a variety of sea states.

“In the Scapa testing phase, we will test power production and compare results against our numerical predictions, and we will test operations including towing, installation, removal, and access at sea. The device is standalone and operated wirelessly. A 4G connection allows us to send commands and download data from shore.

“I’d like to thank all of our local Orkney-based partners including EMEC, Leask Marine, Heddles, Orkney Harbour Authority and Orcades Marine for the help we have received to date.

“We believe our technology is ideally suited to a number of offshore operations, where it can make a direct contribution to net zero goals. Longer-term, we think grid-scale machines will be able to tap into deep ocean waves to generate significant quantities of clean energy,” McNatt concludes.

Next year, the wave pioneers plan to connect the device to a subsea battery which will be used to power a remotely operated autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) – with potential applications offshore.

The deployment and demonstration of the Blue X at EMEC is being funded by Wave Energy Scotland and supported by Interreg North-West Europe’s Ocean DEMO project.

Michael Matheson, The Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport said:

“With our abundant natural resources, expertise and forward-looking policy approach, Scotland is ideally placed to harness the enormous global market for marine energy whilst helping deliver our net zero economy, which is why the Scottish Government has long-supported marine energy and invested more than £40 million to date in the internationally-renowned Wave Energy Scotland programme.

“The deployment of Mocean Energy’s Blue X device is a proud moment for Scotland and a significant milestone in wave energy’s journey towards commercialisation. I congratulate Mocean Energy, Wave Energy Scotland, and everyone who has made this achievement possible.”

Tim Hurst, Managing Director of Wave Energy Scotland said:

“This test programme coincides with the real prospect of a UK market support mechanism for marine energy, which could enable Britain’s wave and tidal sector to take a global lead at a time when the whole world is seeking new ways to create a net zero future.

“This is technology developed right here in Scotland, supported by a mature UK supply chain that can exploit the huge global market potential for wave energy and bring significant economic benefits.”

Neil Kermode, Manging Director at EMEC said:

“Congratulations to the Mocean Energy team on the safe installation of the Blue X wave energy converter at EMEC’s Scapa Flow demonstration site. This successful operation is the culmination of many weeks of hard work and planning by Mocean Energy, EMEC and Leask Marine; we’re now eager to see how it begins its work up in the initially gentle wave climate at Scapa prior to the next stage sea trials at Billia Croo.”

The Blue X manufacture and testing programme is being supported by £3.3 million from Wave Energy Scotland (WES) through their Novel Wave Energy Converter programme.

Earlier this year Mocean Energy announced a £1.6 million project with OGTC, oil major Chrysaor (now newly formed Harbour Energy) and subsea specialists EC-OG and Modus to demonstrate the potential of the Blue X prototype to power a subsea battery and a remote underwater vehicle – using onshore testing at EC-OG’s Aberdeen facility.

The Blue X wave machine was fabricated in Scotland by Fife fabricator AJS Production and painted by Montrose-based Rybay Corrosion services. Numerous hardware and services were supplied by companies who have developed capabilities though the WES programme, including The University of Edinburgh who supplied their CGEN generator, Supply Design and Blackfish Engineering Design.

Magallanes Renovables ATIR installation at EMEC (Copyright Colin Keldie)

EMEC has welcomed Spanish tidal energy developer Magallanes Renovables back to its tidal test site at the Fall of Warness in Orkney, Scotland.

The successful reinstallation of Magallanes’ second generation 1.5 MW tidal platform ‘ATIR’ took place on 19 April 2021.

The Magallanes team worked in collaboration with Orkney-based marine service provider Leask Marine, along with the Orkney Harbour Authority tug Thor, to install the platform in an operation lasting eight hours.

In the coming weeks, the ATIR will be connected to the national electricity grid.

Magallanes Renovables has been developing its tidal technology for over 12 years and tested a scale version of the ATIR at EMEC’s Shapinsay Sound test site in 2014.

The ATIR platform was initially launched in 2017 and underwent vigorous tow testing in Vigo, Spain, prior to being installed and connected to the national grid at EMEC in Orkney in 2019. Whilst at EMEC the ATIR completed a structured test programme to optimise the system including validation, generation and operational maintenance tests were carried out.

In order to further optimise the performance of the ATIR, Magallanes transported the platform to the dry dock of Dales Marine in Edinburgh in 2020 for maintenance, supported by GAP, Leask Marine, Briggs Marine and Forth Port. The maintenance was no mean feat, having to position the platform horizontally in the sea by using a system of buoys to fit into the dry dock via the locks. During this positioning operation in Leith, maintenance tasks were carried out to optimise the platform, including antifouling and performance verification, all of which will allow the platform to operate more efficiently.

Alejandro Marques de Magallanes, CEO and Founder, Magallanes Renovables, explained:

“We are very pleased to have demonstrated that it is possible to build, launch, install, operate and maintain a tidal platform, in order to generate energy from tidal currents. We are delighted to again have successfully reinstalled the ATIR at EMEC.

“This is a great achievement for our dedicated team and we are now ready to take the next step to start generating electricity into the national grid in the near future.”

EMEC’s Operations and Technology Director, Jonathan Lindsay, added:

“We are delighted to welcome Magallanes back to EMEC following testing in 2019. Their innovation, hard work and determination to drive forward the development of their tidal technology is admirable and we wish them well in their next phase of testing.

“Here in Orkney we are continuing to drive forward and support the development of marine renewable technology, with more marine energy devices having been tested at the EMEC than at any other location in the world.

“With innovative companies like Magallanes choosing to demonstrate technologies in Scotland, it has led to the development of the world’s most experienced supply chain for marine energy. This successful operation has highlighted the skills of Leask Marine and our Local Harbour Authority tugs.”

Douglas Leask, Managing Director of Leask Marine, oversaw the operations:

“Leask Marine Ltd were delighted to be selected once again to manage the successful installation of Magallanes Renovables’ ATIR tidal platform after her recent upgrade programme. This marks another major milestone in the tidal history story and after months of careful planning and close working between all the project partners Leask Marine were able to successfully execute the install operations, ready to be connected once again to the national grid. Orkney remains the centre of the green energy revolution and we are delighted to continue to demonstrate and develop world leading innovation for this sector.”

Jim Buck, OIC Head of Marine Services, Transportation and Harbour Master, said:

“We are delighted to continue our collaborative working with EMEC and Magallanes Renovables in their ongoing venture to unlock the future of renewable energy. This was the second time our Orkney Towages tugs have been involved in the successful deploy of the device – the first time using the tug Erlend, and last week with Thor of Scapa – one of our two new tugs that joined our fleet last year. Despite the strong tidal conditions in the area, the vessel handled very well allowing the service to continue playing a key role to try and ensure a greener, sustainable future for the benefit of our environment and everything within.”

The testing of the ATIR is funded by the Interreg OceanDEMO and MaRINET2, part of the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

TGL EMEC base removal (Credit Colin Keldie)

A collaborative decommissioning project at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) has completed the forensic analysis of a tidal energy tripod.

The study gained a comprehensive understanding of the end-of-life condition of the tripod, assessing the long-term effect of deploying components and systems in the challenging high velocity environment at EMEC’s Fall of Warness tidal energy test site. The tripod had been submerged for approximately 11 years during which two tidal turbines had operated on it.

Significant learnings have been collated and two reports published to provide feedback and design guidelines to the offshore renewable energy industry, enabling developers to minimise decommissioning costs and de-risk future projects.

The first report highlights supply chain lessons regarding the tools required to cut and lift the tripod from the seabed in high tidal currents; the second report focuses on learning for the design and manufacture of the foundations themselves with regard to biofouling, corrosion and metals.

John Skuse, Operations and Maintenance Manager from EMEC said:

“Decommissioning is a critical part of the lifecycle of ocean energy projects, however it’s not yet well explored, as relatively few ocean energy technologies have progressed to the decommissioning stage following long-term deployment.

“It is imperative that decommissioning is managed carefully, including design stages, installation, performance, right through to decommissioning. As the industry continues to develop and mature, the ability to decommission devices efficiently and cleanly will be instrumental in ensuring site utilisation is maximised.”

EMEC contracted Orkney-based marine operations provider, Leask Marine, to remove the tripod foundation from the Fall of Warness test site. The project required continuous innovation by the Leask Marine team during the cutting and retrieval operations. Standard industry equipment used in offshore subsea oil and gas would have been unable to withhold the strong currents. Leask Marine’s engineering team therefore designed and fabricated a new robust cutting tool support frame to hold the tool in place on the pile with sufficient grip to control the turbulent drag forces.

The specifically designed frame had a buoyancy system added to help lift the 140-ton structure from the seabed in one operation. Leask Marine’s vessel then towed the frame and tripod to Hatston Pier in Kirkwall for forensic analysis, final cutting and disposal of parts.

Forensic analysis was carried out by Blackfish Engineering Design Ltd, the International Centre for Island Technology (ICIT) at Herriot Watt University, Rovco Ltd, Brunel Experimental Techniques Centre, and Brunel Centre for Advanced Solidification Technology.

Forensic examination activities assessed biofouling, corrosion, metallurgic (metal) defects and electrical connector longevity.

The study found that all surfaces exposed to seawater current will be subjected to vigorous fouling. Components that are expected to move, slide, or require clearance in any way must be designed assuming that biofouling will occur on all steel surfaces. Components that are installed for long-term submersion should be designed to account for biofouling end stage communities up to 15cm thick and the additional weight should be factored into lifting operations during decommissioning. Biofouling was markedly reduced where larvae access to surfaces was restricted due to a lack of flow and a lack of nutrient supply.

Stainless steel 316L, titanium and super duplex material have all shown excellent resistance to corrosion, but all of them are susceptible to biofouling.

The full lessons learned report has been published highlighting best-practices for device and infrastructure design, deployment, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning. The study was part of the EMEC-led FORESEA project, funded by Interreg North-West Europe.

Tim Warren, Engineering Director, Blackfish, said:

“This decommissioning project has provided really valuable data for engineering designers and project developers of offshore renewable devices. A detailed examination of the biofouling, corrosion and performance of different structures, materials and coatings has provided a great insight into the long term performance of submerged components and how the design can be improved to ensure longevity and performance for their entire lifetime.

“By publishing this project and the lessons learned to the wider offshore renewables industry, it is hoped that future devices will benefit from this by reducing costs and improving decommissioning operations.”

Douglas Leask, Managing Director, Leask Marine, said:

“The decommissioning of TGL tripod has been an excellent project for Leask Marine by utilising the full resources of the business, from marine consultancy, detailed engineering, procurement, fabrication, vessel charter, commercial diving, and using the latest subsea technologies. The whole project was a positive experience in decommissioning subsea structures safely and cost effectively.

“This decommissioning project has been a real learning exercise on creating customer value and lowering costs for the decommissioning of large subsea assets in the industry. This knowledge base allows future developers accessible operational tooling that can meet the challenges ahead in the decommissioning of future offshore renewable energy arrays.”

Decommissioning Reports:

• To access the Leask Marine TGL Gravity Base Decommissioning report, please contact John Macleod john@leaskmarine.com – or call 01856 874725 for more details.
• To access the FoDTEC final summary report, please download it below:

FoDTEC Final Summary Report

Published - May 2020.
After the removal of the TGL tidal turbine foundation that was installed at EMEC’s Fall of Warness
tidal test site, the FoDTEC project has completed activities to assess biofouling, corrosion,
metallurgical defects and electrical connector longevity

893 Downloads
Details...

Decommissioning resources:

For more information on decommissioning, ETIP Ocean hosted a webinar on ‘Decommissioning bonds – learnings on best practices’, click here to view the recording.

Construction work on an innovative tidal energy device destined for Orkney waters is continuing, despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“On the other side of COVID-19 there’ll be the need for a massive economic recovery effort, which we believe can be fuelled in an environmentally sustainable way,” says Andrew Scott, CEO of Orkney-based tidal energy developer Orbital Marine.

“By continuing to work towards our mission, we’re getting closer to providing clean energy to millions, and creating a healthier planet.”

With so much of the world grinding to a halt during the COVID-19 pandemic and a focus, rightly, on the healthcare, social and economic response to the crisis, it’s perhaps easy to forget that the climate change issue isn’t going away any time soon.

Granted, global restrictions on travel and industry have seen a positive impact on pollution levels around the world, but we’re still facing a challenge that potentially could dwarf any viral outbreak in terms of its impact on humanity.

Orkney has long been at the forefront of international efforts to try and find practical, cost-effective solutions to the climate crisis, with the work undertaken on marine energy research and development in the islands seen as particularly ground-breaking.

More marine energy devices have been tested at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney than at any other location in the world, with home-grown Orbital Marine one of the sector’s key players.

Prior to the global COVID-19 crisis, Orbital was well underway with construction of its O2 turbine, a commercial-scale floating tidal energy device with a 2MW output – enough to power over 1,700 homes.

The 74-metre long turbine represents the pinnacle of over a decade’s worth of sustained research and development, much of it carried out in Orkney. Orbital’s previous two tidal turbines were also designed here and tested at EMEC.

Orbital was successful in raising £7 million in crowdfunding to deliver the O2 project, also being awarded £3.4 million by the Scottish Government through the Saltire Tidal Energy Challenge Fund. In addition, the O2 project is being supported with European funding via the Horizon 2020 FloTEC project and Interreg NWE ITEG project.

When complete, the O2 turbine will be deployed at EMEC’s Fall of Warness tidal test site, just off the island of Eday, with plans to install a second O2 device there in the future. Ultimately, Orbital hopes to build arrays of O2 turbines, all feeding clean and predictable energy into the grid.

Orbital’s first O2 turbine is currently under construction in Dundee. It’s a huge and complex project, challenging enough at the best of times, but one that began well before the coronavirus outbreak.

“Somewhat frustratingly, we were getting right up to full speed across all the major manufacturing activities for the turbine when COVID-19 started to impact,” says Andrew Scott. “I don’t believe there’s a business that hasn’t been impacted though and that’s the same for us and our supply chain.”

However, marine energy developers are resourceful – resilience goes with the territory when you’re testing devices in the most hostile of ocean environments, while simultaneously working to secure vital funding from the public and private sectors.

“Like everyone, we’ve had to adjust our own working practises internally as well as working with our suppliers to adapt to what is a very dynamic situation,” says Andrew.

“That said, there are very few areas where we’ve seen almost total stops and for most we’re seeing our suppliers maintain levels of productivity at their sites, albeit at reduced rates.

“As it stands, the project is well progressed through the heavy steel fabrication work – that’s being done across sites in Dundee and Fife – and we have one of our four completed anchors already at Hatston Pier in Orkney, with a further three to come from our supplier in Wales. Tooling moulds for our turbine blades are being finished in Southampton and the major drive train nacelle assemblies are taking shape with the Swedish OEM SKF in facilities in Germany and Sweden.”

Meanwhile, Orbital’s in-house team has been busy assembling and commissioning the turbine’s extensive onboard power, control and auxiliary systems in the company’s Hatston workshop, just outside Kirkwall.

“That’s a critical part of the overall turbine and a big job, so it was brilliant to see us get those assemblies completed on schedule and shipped down to the main manufacturing site in Dundee at the start of the year,” says Andrew.

Orbital is factoring in a project delay of just two to three months on the project and, encouragingly, sees no major threat to the future of the company. All being well, the O2 could deploy at EMEC’s site later this year or early next, becoming fully operational in 2021.

“It’s critical that we continue to progress with developing our technology and building the O2 at this time,” says Andrew, reflecting an industry-wide commitment to finding a path through this current crisis, while maintaining focus on the big picture climate issue. “We’re ambitious at Orbital – we want to provide millions of people with clean, predictable energy from tidal streams around the world.”

No matter where they ultimately deploy devices in the world, Orbital will always see Orkney as fundamental to the success of the company.

“It’s unquestionable in my mind that we have the best environment right here in Orkney and Scotland to get our technology right,” concludes Andrew. “You have the essential ingredient of the tides – in abundance – but that’s complimented with the equally important components of knowledge, especially around working in tidal flows, and manufacturing capabilities. And then we have the enabling support and infrastructure of EMEC. It’s the combination of all these elements that provide us with the very best platform to get this right.”

Source: orkney.com

Our goal is to accelerate the commercialisation of offshore energy and demonstrate practical solutions for decarbonising power, heat and transport.

Our onshore facilities at Caldale in Eday, next to our tidal energy test site, provide a test platform for first-of-a-kind and pilot scale demonstrations, from green hydrogen and battery storage, to e-fuels, refuelling technologies and data centres.

EMEC has supported projects that span the full hydrogen value chain, from production and storage to transport and end use, while enabling the development of logistics solutions to move hydrogen across the Orkney islands and to the UK mainland for applications in power, heat and transport.

Through this work, EMEC has gained practical expertise in hydrogen technology demonstrations, site operations and maintenance. Building on this experience, we’re expanding our research into synthetic fuel production using renewable hydrogen as a feedstock. Liquid-based e-fuels offer a practical pathway to decarbonise hard-to-electrify sectors such as aviation and maritime, with particular relevance to the Orkney context.

EMEC’s strategic R&D focus areas are hydrogen and hydrogen-based e-fuels to increase renewable integration, and support decarbonisation in the aviation and maritime sectors.

For more on how our infrastructure and expertise can support your project, or provide commercial support, visit hydrogen R&D services, hydrogen projects and  decarbonisation projects.

Asset sales

Due to some R&D demonstration projects coming to an end, EMEC is making a selection of hydrogen equipment available to purchase.

Through these demonstration projects, we have gained great insight into hydrogen’s role in the future energy landscape, particularly in the Orkney Islands context where we operate. As we progress our demonstration focus to hydrogen production as a feedstock for the creation of synthetic liquid fuels to support de-fossilisation of hard-to-electrify sectors like industry, aviation and maritime, we are making some of our existing hydrogen assets available to purchase. This will let us free up space at our sites to accommodate the demonstration of new technologies.

To request a brochure for detailed specifications and pricing, contact: commercial@emec.org.uk

Get in touch to collaborate: commercial@emec.org.uk.

Hydrogen production

EMEC own and operate both fixed and re-deployable hydrogen production assets.

The fixed hydrogen production plant is located onshore in Eday neighbouring EMEC’s grid-connected tidal test site at the Fall of Warness. The production plant is integrated with renewable energy input, either tidal energy converters testing at the Fall of Warness or from the Eday community wind turbine. The plant has been integrated with flow battery technology in a trial to optimise hydrogen production by ‘smoothing’ tidal generation to create continuous, on-demand electricity to power EMEC’s electrolyser.

EMEC’s re-deployable electrolyser supports demonstration projects by providing on-site hydrogen generation in locations where there is no fixed hydrogen infrastructure.

Electrolyser and static storage

EMEC’s hydrogen production plant includes a 670 kW rapid response PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) electrolyser which produces ‘green’ hydrogen using locally-produced renewable energy. Control switchgear inside EMEC’s substation determines whether the power fed to the electrolyser is to be routed from tidal generators testing at the Fall of Warness site or the 900 kW community wind turbine nearby. The electrolyser is capable of ramping up and down flexibly to take advantage of variable renewable generation.

The electrolyser is housed in a standard 20′ by 10′ ISO container and has the capability of generating up to 260 kg of high purity, fuel cell grade hydrogen per day based on the electrolyser running at full power for 24 hours.

Hydrogen gas is produced via electrolysis at 20 bar. A compressor then further pressurises the gas to 200 bar at which point it is stored. Up to 500 kg of hydrogen can be stored in onsite storage cylinders.

In 2017 EMEC achieved the world’s first tidal generated hydrogen using power from tidal energy clients, Orbital and Tocardo, who were testing tidal energy devices on site.

Vanadium Flow Batteries | Energy Storage 

Located adjacent to the hydrogen laydown area, EMEC’s energy storage building houses 48 vanadium flow battery (VFB) modules with a combined storage capacity of 1.8MWh.

A unique combination of tidal power and flow batteries can power EMEC’s hydrogen production plant aiming to optimise green hydrogen production capacity from variable renewable generation.

VFBs are well suited as a storage solution for tidal power production as it can cope with the heavy charge and discharge cycles that comes with 4 tidal cycles per day. Vanadium also does not degrade as quickly as lithium-ion technology.

Re-deployable electrolyser

EMEC operate a re-deployable modular electrolyser which can used for on-site small scale hydrogen generation in locations with no fixed production infrastructure.

Housed in a container, the unit consists of 10 stack anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolyser technology and a low-pressure buffer tank. The electrolyser is rated at 24kW and generates hydrogen at 30 – 35 bar which is then stored in the low-pressure buffer tank.

The re-deployable electrolyser can be coupled with our mobile refuelling solution to offer an end-to-end system.

Hydrogen transportation and refuelling

Mobile storage trailers

Specially designed mobile hydrogen storage trailers transport hydrogen from point of production via road and ferry to a variety of end applications across power, heat and transport in technology demonstration projects.

Each trailer can transport 250 kg of hydrogen. The trailers consist of 59 lightweight composite cylinders made of aluminium with a Kevlar wrap, specially designed to comply with road restrictions.

To date the trailers have supplied hydrogen to demonstration projects on the Orkney mainland and on the UK mainland.

Mobile refuelling solution 

EMEC’s Pioneer 145 refueller is a self contained mobile hydrogen refueller which can provide hydrogen refuelling capabilities to locations with no existing or fixed hydrogen infrastructure.

The refueller is rated at 425bar with a storage capacity of 420kg. Mounted on a triple axle trailer, it can be used for temporary deployments such as pilot projects or refuelling support in remote locations.

In June 2018, Naval Group led the successful installation of the 450kW subsea data centre at EMEC’s Billia Croo wave energy test site, on the west coast of the Orkney mainland. Installation was carried out by local marine contractor Green Marine.

The operation was part of Phase 2 of Microsoft’s ‘Project Natick’, a research project investigating the numerous potential benefits that a standard, manufacturable, deployable undersea data centre could provide. The project is part of Microsoft’s ongoing quest for cloud data centre solutions that are less resource intensive and offer rapid provisioning, lower costs, and high agility to meet the needs of cloud users around the world.

Deepwater deployment offers ready access to cooling, a controlled environment, and has the potential to be powered by co-located renewable power sources, such as the pioneering wave and tidal energy technologies testing nearby at EMEC’s test sites.

The data centre, which was as powerful as several thousand high end consumer PCs and had enough storage for about five million movies, was initially anticipated to remain on site for around one year, but ended up testing for a second year.

Further details on the project are available on Microsoft’s blog: The Orkney Islands in Scotland just became one of the most exciting places in tech

The project was partly supported by the INTERREG NWE FORESEA programme which has facilitated continuous remote monitoring from the Microsoft team based in Washington, USA.

The data centre was retrieved over summer 2020 with Microsoft finding that the concept of underwater datacenters is feasible, as well as logistically, environmentally and economically practical.

Related news:

• September 2020: Microsoft share findings following data centre trials at EMEC
• June 2018: Naval Group deploy Microsoft underwater data centre at EMEC

About Naval Group

Naval Group is a European leader in naval defence. As an international high-tech company, Naval Group uses its extraordinary know-how, unique industrial resources and capacity to arrange innovative strategic partnerships to meet its customers requirements. The group offers a wide range of marine renewable energy solutions. Attentive to corporate social responsibility, Naval Group adhere to the United Nations Global Compact. The group reports revenues of €3.7 bilion and has a workforce of 13,429 (data for 2017).

The two organisations originally began working together in 2012, with EMEC providing support on the design, set up and operation of NNMREC’s Pacific Marine Energy Center (PMEC) – a grid-connected marine energy test centre proposed for development off the Pacific Northwest coast.

EMEC supported NNMREC with the site selection process, advising on stakeholder engagement, preparing development plans and conducting risk assessments.

Building on this, the signing of this MoU will facilitate cooperation through joint research activities, sharing experiences, and information exchange relevant to the sustainable global development of marine renewable energy.

Of particular interest to both parties is the development of methods to facilitate environmental studies around marine energy converters. Both organisations are developing integrated monitoring technologies – EMEC’s Integrated Monitoring Pod (IMP), and NNMREC’s intelligent Adaptable Monitoring Package (iAMP) – and working in tandem should reduce costs whilst speeding up development of the systems.

Elaine Buck, EMEC’s Technical Manager, signed the MoU on behalf of EMEC:

“Developing wave and tidal energy technologies to meet energy demands in a way that is economically viable and environmentally benign is a global challenge: international collaboration is essential to progress with this as efficiently and effectively as possible.

“EMEC and NNMREC have developed knowledge in technical, environmental, and economic aspects of marine renewable energy. Sharing our expertise and taking advantage of economies of scale to answer key research questions is of mutual interest.”

Brian Polagye, Associate Professor at the University of Washington, and Co-Director of NNMREC said:

“NNMREC welcomes the opportunity for broader collaborations with EMEC that help to move our advances in environmental monitoring out of the laboratory and into the field where they can benefit the marine renewables industry.”

Belinda Batten, Professor at Oregon State University, and Director of NNMREC said:

“Our collaborations with EMEC to date have been invaluable for strategically advancing our ocean test facilities. We are most pleased to take our partnership to the next level, as represented by the MoU.”

Jeremy Kasper, Co-Director of NNMREC at University of Alaska Fairbanks said:

“We look forward to developing a closer relationship with EMEC in order to make rapid advances in carrying out successful testing and environmental monitoring of hydrokinetic technologies.”

Magallanes Renovables SL is developing a floating platform to obtain energy from tidal currents. Magallanes Renovables was started in 2007. Its main shareholder is Spanish company Sagres SL and also features participation from Cardama Shipyards and CNV Naval Architects SL.

www.magallanesrenovables.com

Grid-connected testing at EMEC | 2019-present

The data obtained during the initial testing programme in 2014 (see below) was fed into the design of Magallanes’ second generation 1.5 MW tidal platform ‘ATIR’.

The ATIR was built in Vigo, Spain. The device was validated in a controlled environment in Vigo and was then was towed to Orkney in September 2018. Following months of careful planning and close working between the project partners, Orkney-based marine service provider Leask Marine successfully executed the deployment of the platform at EMEC’s grid-connected Fall of Warness tidal test site in February 2019. The ATIR was first connected to the grid via EMEC’s subsea cables and onshore substation in March 2019 and generated its first power a short time after. As part of its testing programme, the device is occasionally taken off-site for maintenance.

The testing of the ATIR has been supported by the Horizon 2020 Fast Track to Innovation Ocean_2G project, and the Interreg OceanDEMO and MaRINET2 projects, part of the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

Scale testing at EMEC | 2014

Magallanes Renovables deployed its floating tidal turbine at EMEC in November 2014, supported by the EU-funded MaRINET (the Marine Renewables Infrastructure Network) project.  The 1:10 scale ‘ATIR’ prototype was installed on EMEC’s Shapinsay Sound test site. Magallanes has been developing their concept since 2007, having trialled previous prototypes in test tank and river conditions.

Magallanes Renovables decided to test its 1:10 scale model at EMEC as a first step towards testing of a full-scale prototype, a goal that was achieved in 2019.

Related news:

• April 2021: Magallanes reinstall ATIR tidal turbine at EMEC
• February 2020: Success for Magallanes at EMEC through Horizon2020 projects
• March 2019:  Magallanes generate first electricity to UK grid at EMEC
• February 2019: Magallanes install ATIR Tidal Turbine at EMEC
• September 2018: Magallanes Renovables’ ATIR en route from Spain to EMEC
• April 2018: Magallanes gears up for OCEAN_2G deployment to EMEC
• June 2016: €3.9m innovation funding for tidal energy in Orkney
• November 2014: Magallanes successfully install floating tidal turbine at EMEC

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Tidal energy technologies at EMEC

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