UK-based offshore engineering company Subsea 7 and Norwegian tidal energy player Flumill have signed a letter of intent to collaborate on the development and design of tidal technology.
Flumill’s patented tidal technology is based on rotating helixes.
The company has already completed several scale tests of the concept, including the one at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in 2011.
Jan Arthur Grip Nilsen , Subsea 7 NSC Engineering Director, said: “Marine renewable energy is in an early development phase, but the ocean contains a significant energy potential, and Subsea 7 wants to be an active player in the further development. We have considered different technologies and came to the conclusion that Flumill with its composite-based screw concept has a great potential to succeed.”
Anders Holm , Managing Director of Flumill, added: “Cooperation with an international partner who has the necessary marine expertise and the resources to move the technology development into a commercial phase has been very important. Subsea 7 is in this way the perfect partner for us, and we are very pleased that Flumill and Subsea 7 have signed a letter of intent that sets the framework for a close cooperation.”
The technology works as tidal water drives the screwdrivers with two opposite rotating helixes. The turbines have lower end generators and they are attached to a foundation on the seabed.
The buoyancy system allows the turbines to flow with the tide to an operating angle of between 25 and 60 degrees, Subsea 7 said.