The Carbon Trust has awarded Pure Marine Gen Ltd over £153,000 to accelerate the development of its electricity-generating wave energy converter.
The company has developed a design concept for a multi-mode, floating, self-reacting wave energy converter, which is called the DUO WEC concept. According to the company, it aims to improve the efficiency with which energy is captured from the sea by harnessing power from both the vertical and horizontal motion of waves.
The funding will be used to conduct mathematical modelling, carry out an iterative series of tank tests and produce design drawings for a prototype. In the longer term, Pure Marine plans to develop devices with a capacity of over 2MW which, deployed in large arrays, could have generating capacity of over 500MW, comparable with a small coal-fired power plant. A techno-economic analysis which also forms part of the project will provide a projection of energy costs from the device and a route map for further cost reductions.
Dr. Paul Brewster of Pure Marine Gen said The Carbon Trust’s support has helped the company to expand its Engineering team and work with a wider range of engineering specialists, which has fast tracked the development of the DUO WEC wave energy technology.
“In addition to our DUO WEC research projects, we have identified the best sites for deploying wave energy technology,” said Dr. Brewster.
Related links: The Carbon Trust, wave energy converter
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