East Coast Oil and Gas Engineering (EC-OG) will begin the installation of its Subsea Power Hub system at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) next week.
Orkney-based marine services provider Leask Marine has been engaged to conduct the installation operation using its C-Odyssey vessel starting from April 9, 2017.
The device will be installed at EMEC’s scale tidal test site at Shapinsay Sound in Orkney.
The test program will be a subsea industry first, according to EMEC, with the combination of a marine energy converter coupled directly to a lithium based energy storage system.
Testing of this hybrid system will validate the technical capability needed to meet a number of immediate high value subsea power applications, such as those in the oil and gas sector, thus fundamentally enhancing the value proposition associated with ocean currents, EMEC said.
EC-OG’s Subsea Power Hub is a delta array of turbines, and each module is an underwater battery unit with integral charger. Each module consists of a turbine, generator, battery pack and electrical conditioning system, according to EC-OG.
The installation operation is scheduled to be completed by April 30, 2017, while the Subsea Power Hub system is expected to remain at EMEC for testing from April 30, until September 28, 2017.
To remind, the development of EC-OG’s Subsea Power Hub system was backed by over £1 million in funding granted by Castle View Ventures and the Scottish Investment Bank last year.