A €19.6 million partnership project aimed at large-scale wave energy commercialization has received formal go-ahead from the European Union.

 

WEDUSEA is a pioneering collaboration between 14 partners, spanning industry and academia from across the U.K., Ireland, France, Germany and Spain. It is coordinated by the Irish company OceanEnergy. The project is co-funded by the EU Horizon Europe Programme and Innovate UK.

The WEDUSEA project will demonstrate a grid-connected 1-MW 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. OceanEnergy has developed the OE35, which 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 U.K. grid via EMEC’s subsea cables.

The WEDUSEA project has three phases. The first phase is the initial design and build of a device suited to the ocean conditions at EMEC’s Billia Croo wave energy test site. This will be followed by the demonstration at the site, lasting two years. The final phase will be commercialization and dissemination.

Learn more here.