The University of Plymouth is a key partner in a €19.6 million project which aims to be the stepping stone towards large scale wave energy commercialisation.
WEDUSEA (Wave Energy Demonstration at Utility Scale to Enable Arrays) has now received formal go-ahead from the European Union.
The pioneering collaboration between 14 partners spans industry and academia from across the UK, Ireland, France, Germany and Spain. It is co-ordinated by the Irish company OceanEnergy and co-funded by the EU Horizon Europe Programme and by Innovate UK, the UK's innovation agency.
Professor Lars Johanning, chair in Ocean Technology and Associate Head of School (Research) at the University of Plymouth's Faculty of Science and Engineering says:
"The WEDUSEA partnership has worked hard to ensure that all detailed designs and planning are robust, to prove that the project is viable and that the project will be delivered within budget. Now we have received the green light from the EU, it's all systems go!"
In common with all other Horizon Europe projects, WEDUSEA has undergone a comprehensive independent review by EU-appointed external experts, following its initial project design period, to ensure the technical designs and all plans, budgets and protocols are fully in place and approved.
The WEDUSEA project will demonstrate a grid connected 1MW OE35 floating wave energy converter at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) wave energy test site at Billia Croo in Orkney, Scotland. A rigorous technical and environmental demonstration will happen over a two-year period in Atlantic wave conditions.
Developed by OceanEnergy the OE35 is the world's largest capacity floating wave energy device. Floating on the ocean's surface, the device incorporates a trapped air volume, with the lower part open to the sea. Wave pressures at the submerged opening cause the water to oscillate and drive the trapped air through a turbine to generate electricity. Electricity generated will be exported to the UK grid via EMEC's subsea cables.
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