Scottish renewables firm Mocean Energy has secured £3.2 million in innovation funding for its wave machine plans in Orkney.
Edinburgh-based Mocean aims to build a new device, Blue Horizon 250, in Scotland and install it in a grid-cobnnected berth at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, perhaps as early as 2025.
It’s hoped the project may pave the way for a small wave farm delivering up to two megawatts of low carbon electricity by 2030.
EU-funded project expected to deliver Scottish supply chain boost
The funding is coming to Mocean through phase three of a European Union pre-commercial procurement programme, EuropeWave. Partners in the scheme include Wave Energy Scotland (WES), the Basque Energy Agency and Ocean Energy Europe.
Mocean co-founder and managing director Cameron McNatt said: “We have already demonstrated our technology successfully at small scale.
“This programme will allow us to build a significantly larger machine.
“We are already working with a range of supply chain partners across Scotland and the UK who bring tremendous experience and professionalism to the wave energy sector.
“I am confident we have the right suppliers on board to bring this ambitious project to fruition.”
He added: “Innovation funding is crucial for early-stage technologies.
“Our goal is to deliver a small array in UK waters this decade. I am confident… we can realise our ambition to build commercial wave energy arrays and generate home-grown green energy from our seas, both in the UK and around the world.”
Mocean is already a key participant in the £2m Renewables for Subsea Power programme, which has connected the firm’s 10 kilowatt Blue X wave energy prototype with a Halo underwater battery system developed by Aberdeen intelligent energy management specialists Verlume.
Blue X was also made in Scotland
These technologies are alread working together in the seas off Orkney, delivering low carbon power and communication to infrastructure including Baker Hughes’ subsea controls equipment and a resident underwater autonomous vehicle provided by Transmark Subsea. The programme has been supported by industry partners alongside the Aberdeen-based Net Zero Technology Centre.
Blue Horizon 250 will be a significant scale up from Blue X and is designed for commercial applications on islands and remote communities, while also including early grid projects and off-grid applications, such as oil and gas and aquaculture.
The Blue X prototype was built in Scotland, with around 80% local supply chain content, and it is anticipated Blue Horizon will deliver similar levels of local work.
In March, Mocean Energy selected Aberdeen-based Texo Engineering and Fabrication as its preferred fabrication, assembly and load-out contractor for its future wave energy convertors.
The deployment and demonstration of Blue X at Emec was funded by WES, a subsidiary of Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
WES managing director Tim Hurst said: “With their Blue X prototype deployed in Scapa Flow, Mocean Energy proved their technology had the right cost, performance and reliability to deliver commercial wave energy.
“Phase 3 of EuropeWave will demonstrate the technology can scale up and, ultimately, be deployed in sufficient numbers to make a significant contribution to our net-zero targets.”
Firm may reach out for extra cash from private sector investors
Mocean said it would bring in private funding “as required”.
Mr McNatt added: “The EuropeWave programme is a vital catalyst to build confidence in the industry and accelerate the technology towards commercialisation.”
Conversation