Offshore staff
EDINBURGH, UK – Mocean Energy has secured further funding for its wave energy technology.
The £730,000 ($972,000) in equity funds will support the design of the company’s Blue Star wave machine and its adoption in subsea oil and gas settings.
Last year the company successfully trialed its Blue X prototype at sea at the European Wave Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, northern Scotland. The system should undergo sea trials later this year.
Mocean Energy managing director Cameron McNatt said: “This year we’ll start fabricating Blue Star 10 – a 10 kW machine based around the Blue X design which will begin commercial trials in 2023.”
McNatt added: “In parallel we are developing our next-generation Blue Star 20, a 20-kW machine based on a new optimized geometry, which will include solar panels and a novel direct drive generator, with trials and rollout targeted for 2024-25.”
He explained that both products “are aimed at opportunities in the oil and gas energy transition, defense, offshore wind, and ocean science markets where they can be used to provide power to remote subsea equipment, robotics, and monitoring systems.”
Last year a consortium comprising Mocean Energy, Verlume, Harbour Energy and Baker Hughes with funding from NZTC, invested in a program to develop a wave power and energy storage system for subsea operations.
The Renewables for Subsea Power demonstrator project is designed to show how the Blue X wave machine can be coupled with underwater energy storage to provide low carbon power to subsea CCS injection equipment, oil and gas production equipment and AUVs.
3/2/2022
