A demonstration project combining wave energy technology and subsea energy storage has been deployed off Orkney in the north of Scotland, where it will be tested for at least four months, it was announced on Monday.
The GBP-2-million (USD 2.4m/EUR 2.2m) Renewables for Subsea Power (RSP) project is led by two Scottish companies, Mocean Energy and Verlume. It has connected Mocean Energy’s Blue X wave energy converter with Verlume’s Halo underwater battery.
The aim of the project is to decarbonise subsea operations, powering autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) and subsea control systems. As part of the testing programme, it will provide clean power and communication to Baker Hughes’ subsea controls equipment and a resident AUV provided by Transmark Subsea.
The deployment follows at-sea testing in 2021 of a Blue X prototype at the European Marine Energy Centre’s Scapa Flow test site in Orkney.
“The new test site east off Deerness offers a much more vigorous wave climate and the opportunity to demonstrate the integration of a number of technologies in real sea conditions,” said Mocean Energy managing director Cameron McNatt.
(GBP 1 = USD 1.199/EUR 1.124)
