PTTEP joins subsea equipment wave energy consortium
July 31, 2023
PTTEP has joined the Renewables for Subsea Power collaboration, which is seeking to prove the concept of wave power for subsea oil and gas equipment combined with intelligent subsea energy storage.
ABERDEEN, UK— Thai state energy company PTTEP has joined the Renewables for Subsea Power (RSP) collaboration, which is seeking to prove the concept of wave power for subsea oil and gas equipment combined with intelligent subsea energy storage.
The £2-million ($2.57-million) demonstrator initiative, which has undergone trials offshore Orkney, northern Scotland, has connected the Blue X wave energy converter built by Mocean Energy with a Halo underwater battery developed by Verlume.
Courtesy Mocean Energy
Mocean Energy's Blue X is lifted into the water at Hatston Pier.
The aim is to demonstrate how various "green" technologies can be combined to provide reliable low-carbon power and communications to subsea equipment, as an alternative to costlier and carbon-intensive umbilicals, which also have long lead times to procure and install.
PTTEP has declared an ambition to explore opportunities in renewable energy. It joins a consortium that includes Baker Hughes, Serica Energy, Harbour Energy, Transmark Subsea, and the Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC).
The company will gain access to all data and results of the test program that is taking place at a site 5 km east of the Orkney mainland. And it PTTEP will be able to provide input to future testing plans and will receive a feasibility assessment of the use of RSP technology at a location of its choice.
The Orkney trial is the third phase of the project: phase two involved the successful integration of the various technologies in onshore tests at Verlume’s facility in Aberdeen.
Courtesy Mocean Energy
Mocean Energy's Blue X offshore Orkney
Courtesy Mocean Energy
Mocean Energy's Blue X
In 2021, Mocean Energy’s Blue X prototype underwent sea trials at the European Marine Energy Centre’s Scapa Flow test site in Orkney, generating first power with data on machine performance and operation.
Verlume’s seabed battery energy storage system, Halo, is designed to cut operational emissions and facilitate the use of renewable energy through providing a reliable, uninterrupted power supply. Its intelligent energy management system, Axonn, is said to autonomously maximize available battery capacity in real time.
