Ocean DEMO backs six offshore renewable energy developers

The EU-funded Ocean DEMO project has awarded recommendations for support to six offshore renewable energy developers to test their ocean energy products at Europe’s world-leading test centres.

Successful applicants will receive free access to test their ocean energy products and services in real sea environments at the project’s network of test centres.

Technology developers applied for support packages to test multi-device farms or single devices looking to scale up to multi-device in the future, according to Ocean DEMO.

The following technology developers were recommended for support packages under the Ocean DEMO’s fourth call, and two of them already started testing in real sea conditions:

• Aquantis – to build and test simplified AQ08 prototype at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC),
• Dutch Wave Power – to validate, test and demonstrate a 1:3 scale wave energy converter prototype at Dutch Marine Energy Centre (DMEC),
• LHYFE Labs – to design and install the first offshore electrolysis unit in the world to be operated from shore at SEM-REV,
• Mocean Energy – for extended testing of its Blue X wave energy converter at EMEC’s Scapa Flow test site,
• OV Wind – to develop a concrete floating platform for the offshore wind industry at SmartBay,
• University of Edinburgh – to test a system for the measurement of 3D fluid velocities in dynamic coastal waters at EMEC.

Koen Donkers, business and innovation advisor at DMEC, said: “We reviewed the applications for Ocean DEMO’s fourth call with great interest. The project’s already promising pipeline will be strengthened by demonstrating these marine energy technologies in real sea conditions.

“After a fruitful 2021, this fourth call will help 2022 become another successful year of deployments for the Ocean DEMO project”.

Funded by Interreg North-West Europe, Ocean DEMO is a €13 million project aiming to accelerate ocean energy’s transition from single prototype to multi-device farms by providing free access to world-leading test centres.

The centres participating in the project include EMEC in UK, DMEC in the Netherlands, SEM-REV in France, and SmartBay in Ireland.