Three Irish marine energy companies have received €3.5 million of government funding for the development and testing of new ocean energy technologies.
The companies that received the funding from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) are Ocean Energy, SeaPower and GKinetic.
The company Ocean Energy has secured €2.3 million to design and build a full-scale version of their Ocean Energy Buoy wave energy converter.
According to SEAI, the device will be deployed and tested at the US Navy Wave Energy Test Site in Hawaii. This funding is being matched by €4.5 million from the US Department of Energy.
SeaPower will receive over €1 million to test their wave energy converter at quarter scale in Galway Bay, while GKinetic Energy will receive €200,000 to conduct towing tests of their tidal turbine system in Limerick Docks, SEAI’s press release reads.
Alex White , Ireland’s Energy Minister, who made the announcement at Ocean Energy Europe conference currently taking place in Dublin, said: “I am committed to seeing the ocean energy sector deliver on its potential. Ireland is open for business, and keen to explore collaborative opportunities, whether with our near neighbours, or further afield such as with the US.
“International collaboration is in fact identified in Ireland’s Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan as a key policy action to facilitate the development of the sector.”
SEAI is Ireland’s national energy agency that aims to transform Ireland into a society based on sustainable energy structures, technologies and practices.
Image: Ocean Energy