Direct Generation
This competition is investigating conceptual approaches to integrate and apply Direct Generation technologies as part of wave energy converter systems.
Lead contractor
WaveX
Sub-contractor(s)
Cheros Srl
Michelin
AirCaptif
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 Round 1 project was led by the WaveX team, a tech-start-up with prior experience of developing seabed embedded flexible structures to harvest wave energy. They collaborated with Cheros and Michelin which brought both dielectric elastomer and manufacturing expertise to the project.
They listed core requirements which include high wave energy capture and the ability to use both DEG and DFGs effectively. Owing to these characteristics, the team selected a design which provides good power capture and replaces expensive rigid materials with a full elastomeric structure using pioneering rigidification techniques developed by Michelin. The design was iterated using time-domain numerical models that were able to effectively calculate the required dimensions to meet the target power requirements. Within this modelling work, a sensitivity analysis was performed with parameters such as the material stretch and applied electrical field modified to understand the trade-off between size and amount of DEG material required.
The preliminary FEED study investigated the choice of materials and their corresponding assembly method, whilst understanding the sustainability of the selected materials. To understand the competitiveness, the team performed a techno-economic analysis with different materials and device configurations. The outcomes of the project suggest the potential of DEGs to reduce cost centres, provide a high degree of operational bandwidth and improvements in practical aspects such as deployment, which delivers on their mission to provide the step-change for low-cost wave energy.
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About Wave Energy Scotland
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