Funding to accelerate ‘sea snake’ wave energy converter toward sea trials

October 22, 2025, by Nadja Skopljak

UK’s national innovation agency Innovate UK has awarded a £750,000 (approximately €861,630) grant to a Wiltshire-based company to help advance the technology readiness and performance of its ‘sea snake’ wave energy converter (WEC) and pave the way for future sea trials at the Welsh Marine Energy Test Area (META).

Checkmate Flexible Engineering’s Lobe-Tendon Anaconda WEC captures wave energy through a patented “bulge tube” design, made of an outer tube pulled into lobes by hundreds of internal tendons.

The outer tube is constructed from reinforced natural rubber, while the internal tendons are constructed from high-performance natural rubber. As ocean waves travel along the length of the flexible tube, they create pressure bulges inside the structure. These bulges move toward a power take-off system at the end of the tube, where their energy is converted into clean electricity.

The speed of the internal bulge waves can be matched to the ocean wave speed, to maximize energy production, or detuned from the ocean wave speed to maximize survivability, Checkmate Flexible Engineering said.

The 18-month project, known as Môr Neidr, or sea snake in Welsh, will build on two years of in-house innovation.

“This grant allows us to accelerate the Anaconda’s development and build on the innovation our team has already delivered, with a clear path toward future sea trials. It’s an exciting step forward, not just for Checkmate, but for the future of wave energy in Wales and the Celtic Sea, where we see enormous potential to deliver clean, predictable power at scale,” said Paul Auston, Director of Checkmate Flexible Engineering.

Working with partners including Swansea University, CGEN Engineering, Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult and Wave Venture, the project will deliver new hardware, testing, and research infrastructure in the region.

Over the next 18 months, Môr Neidr will combine advanced numerical modeling with a program of tank trials, PTO dry testing, materials testing and construction of a section of a 1:4 scale prototype tube.