Direct Generation
This competition is investigating conceptual approaches to integrate and apply Direct Generation technologies as part of wave energy converter systems.
Lead contractor
University of Southampton
Sub-contractor(s)
Nottingham Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre
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 formed by the University of Southampton (UoS) and Nottingham Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre (UTC) in Manufacturing and On-wing Technology has multidisciplinary expertise in maritime engineering, soft robotics, manufacturing, control theory and wave energy. Taking the unique advantage of cutting-edge innovation in universities, they have pioneered ground-breaking designs for Dielectric Elastomer Generators (DEG) and Dielectric Fluid Generators (DFG) based Wave Energy Converters (WECs). These designs, structured within modular frameworks, hold significant promise for scalability and mass production repeatability.
Through an iterative process integrating Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations and rapid laboratory testing, the team has continually refined and optimised the proposed concepts, achieving rich results in not only conceptual design, but also co-design schemes, non-causal control methods, and hydrodynamic simulations. Furthermore, the team has facilitated a robust knowledge transfer from soft robotics and conventional WEC systems to the direct generation WECs. By embracing collaborative efforts and leveraging cutting-edge technologies, the attained outcomes propel a revolutionary transition towards the direct generation of WECs, in line with their collective vision for the future of wave energy.
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About Wave Energy Scotland
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