Direct Generation
This competition is investigating conceptual approaches to integrate and apply Direct Generation technologies as part of wave energy converter systems.
Lead contractor
AWS Ocean Energy Ltd
Sub-contractor(s)
Cheros Srl
SRI International
Pelrine Innovations
Overview
The Round 1 projects comprised of five different teams with the project leads: 4c Engineering, AWS Ocean Energy, University of Southampton, WaveX and TTI Marine Renewables. These five project teams generated numerous innovative concepts, which were down-selected through a blend of qualitative and quantitative engineering methods. The selected designs underwent further refinement through analytical and numerical modelling approaches which informed high-level estimates on the performance and cost of energy.
Throughout this process, the teams identified the R&D requirements for progression of these technologies, with the aims of further collaboration with the appropriate R&D partners.
Stage 1
September 2024
The team at AWS have nearly two decades of experience in the wave energy sector. For this design competition they partnered with 4c Engineering, Cheros, SRI International and Pelrine Innovations which brought a wealth of knowledge and experience in dielectric elastomer generators and their application in wave energy. A key cornerstone of this project was developing a design that had a realistic basis of design. This would involve setting out the commercial requirements for a real-world site location at Costa Head, whilst ensuring external practicalities were realistic for the expected lifetime.
The team performed a thorough literature review along with knowledge capture sessions to identify the necessary input information for concept design generation and subsequent down-selection. The selected concept is scalable and modular whilst allowing for DEG replacement throughout operational life. The design has been visualised with the creation of a 3D CAD model and high-level system breakdown which informed estimates on the annual energy production and bill of materials. This information allowed for a high-level techno-economic analysis to take place suggesting competitive levels of performance and the step-change necessary for cost reductions of WECs.
The team identified a series of critical R&D requirements relating to DEG fatigue and methods to optimise the lifetime energy of the design. The potential pros and cons for environmental and societal aspects were compared with a traditional WEC, suggesting the physical footprint can be reduced significantly through the use of DEGs. Future work will aim to answer these R&D requirements which will allow for further development of the wave capture mechanism.
Where to next?
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