Marine tech certification takes step forward with Lloyd’s Register

The MET-CERTIFIED project has welcomed aboard the certification body Lloyd’s Register (LR) which will be providing its expertise to progress the development and global standardization of marine energy devices.

The LR’s involvement with MET-CERTIFIED will assess the value of universal marine energy certification schemes to help provide confidence to private and commercial investors seeking to invest in marine energy projects.

MET-CERTIFIED is an initiative that seeks to increase the adoption of insurable and therefore bankable marine energy projects through the development of internationally recognized standards and certification schemes, and by testing and verifying technologies against International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards for marine energy converters.

Peter Davies, Principal Specialist of Renewable Energy for LR says: “Certification helps to reduce perceived risks of new or upcoming technologies used in marine energy power generation projects and can help to increase market confidence in how devices perform and their structural integrity, as well as helping this sector attract previously untapped finance schemes and making exporting marine energy technology across the world easier.”

The initiative has been backed by EU funding in the amount of €5.6 million received in December 2016, and covers England, France, the Netherlands and Belgium, known as the Interreg 2 SEAS region.

MET-CERTIFIED is evaluating the entire process of certification, from concept to construction through to installation of a full-scale floating platform for tidal turbines with the support of a number of industry partners.

The initiative is of huge importance to the marine energy industry and particularly for stakeholders wanting security and knowledge in how technology can be, and should be, certified – critical to stakeholder groups such as banks and insurers through to consenting authorities, end-users, test facilities and classification authorities, MET-CERTIFIED said.

“Together with nine other partners from the Interreg 2 SEAS region we are working on standards and certification schemes for marine renewables both at the national and international level. LR will be providing updates to the project on current developments in standards and certification schemes.

“Also we will be providing feedback to the standards and certification committees from a lessons learnt assessment by implementing the standards and certification schemes across eight test models,” added Davies.

Millions of devices that contain electronics, and use or produce electricity, rely on IEC International Standards and Conformity Assessment Systems to perform, fit and work safely together.

Likewise, the IEC System for Certification to Standards Relating to Equipment (IECRE) in Renewable Energy Applications aims to facilitate international trade in equipment and services for use in renewable energy sectors to maintain the required level of safety.