EuropeWave
EuropeWave is a Horizon2020 funded programme, delivered by Ente Vasco de la Energía and WES, to develop and deploy multiple pre-commercial WEC systems in Scotland and the Basque region.
Lead contractor
Arrecife Energy Systems
Sub-contractor(s)
Fundación Instituto de Hidráulica Ambiental de Cantabria
IEXCE
Overview
Arrecife Energy Systems proposed a novel design to convert the ocean waves into electrical power, which took inspiration from observations of nature - in particular, coral reefs which absorb the energy from breaking waves. Their wave energy converter design is based on a floating trimaran platform, which supports a number of cross-flow turbines that are each connected to an electric generator and extract the energy from the waves. It is a scalable, modular system, with Arrecife's ambition being to develop this into a system that is adapted to be used for grid electricity production at high energy sites such as BIMEP and EMEC.
A number of innovations were proposed in the EuropeWave programme that included eliminating the immersion system and redesigning the floating platform, the positioning of the turbines on the platform, and the power take off (PTO) system.
Prior to entry into the programme, there was an hyothesis that this WEC arrangement could lead to high capacity factors. Although the complexity of the system and the inherent challenges with modelling it at a small scale meant it was not possible to reliably evidence these high capacity factors during the physical tank testing and numerical modelling which took place within the project, but Arrecife were still able to substantially progress their WEC concept. Their understanding of the baseline design was greatly enhanced, leading to a refinement of the performance and availability estimates for the system, and consequently a more enticing estimate for LCOE.
Phase 1
July 2022
A number of tests, along with their subsequent post-processing and simulation tasks, resulted in an increased level of the confidence about the opportunity afforded by this technology. The concept design of the WEC was investigated to define the system requirements and the hardware definition. A scaled prototype was designed based on this baseline, and was implemented in a physical testing campaign. Significant focus was apportioned to ensuring that there was a method of measuring and estimating the power captured by this scaled model in representative conditions. The outputs of the test campaign were subject to an independent third party review by IH Cantabria. CFD analysis of the turbines and Simulink simulations of the annual energy performance from the WEC performance were conducted alongside the physical testing, and the project made some initial attempts to validate these models against the physical test data.Phase 2
June 2023
The design of the WEC and its subsystems progressed to a front end engineering design (FEED) and these were subject to an independent third-party review which also considered the WECs suitability for all-season deployment at either of the Phase 3 test sites. The phase featured two mandatory reviews, a preliminary design review which followed up actions identified for the concept developed in Phase 1, and a critical design review of the resulting FEED in Phase 2. Installation and O&M strategies were investigated, and also subject to a third party review. Further tank testing campaigns were completed in a wave flume, to investigate turbine interactions and shoaling over the platform. Further tests were carried out to characterise the PTO generator and to investigate the suitability of various possible materials for the turbine blades in the marine environment. The results of these informed both the FEED and the performance modelling for Phase 3.Where to next?
Explore our other programmes, or find out more about how we operate.
About Wave Energy Scotland
Wave Energy Scotland was created by request of the Scottish Government. Discover our purpose, our procurement model and more about our team.