The announcement follows CorPower’s success in Wave Energy Scotland’s (WES) open call focusing on power take-off systems for wave energy devices. This, combined with funding from KIC InnoEnergy and the Swedish Energy Agency, completes a 6.5 million euro 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 is aimed at developing a highly reliable PTO solution using WaveSpring control technology to improve performance and reduce costs within the wave energy sector. The technology will undergo 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. It will also undergo a five-month programme of cyclical dry and wet testing 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.
A bespoke dry test rig will be installed at EMEC for hardware-in-the-loop testing. The rig will have the ability to subject wave devices to the full range of wave loads corresponding to the most challenging sea states.
“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” said EMEC Managing Director, Neil Kermode. ““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, added that EMEC brings immense amounts of experience and lessons learned from previous wave projects on Orkney and that expectations are high for the Stage 3 programme.
CorPower is hoping to establish a long-lasting presence in Scotland.
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