Wave Energy Scotland (WES) has awarded £2 million to four wave energy developers who will progress to stage two of its technology development programme.
The funding will support further design, modelling and testing of technologies being developed to help commercialise the wave energy sector in Scotland, WES informed.
Eight project, applied for the stage two of the WES’ power take-off (PTO) programme,and the following four were selected:
Wave Energy Transmission Module project, led by Romax Technology, received £496,200 with the aim to enhance energy capture by broadening the speed range over which the PTO can capture energy.
Power Electronic Controlled Magnet Gear (PECMAG) project, led by Ecosse Sub-sea Systems, was granted £498,420 to develop a modular all-electric PTO system with magnetic gearing suitable for various WEC devices.
Inflatable Dielectric Elastomer Generator – PTO project, led by Sant’Anna Scool of Advanced Studies, has been awarded £498,000 to further develop a breakthrough technology for the conversion of ocean wave energy into electricity through the use of electrostatic or dielectric elastomer generators (DEGs).
Project Gator, led by Exceedence, which received £495,000, is developing a PTO based around a novel polymer ‘spring pump’ capable of pumping significant quantities of water at moderate pressures through conventional hydro-electric turbines.
Paul Wheelhouse , Scotland’s Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy, said: “The Scottish Government’s sustained funding has allowed Wave Energy Scotland to support companies to develop genuinely novel components for wave energy devices. Wave energy has great potential to contribute to Scotland’s energy supply and that of the UK and EU.”
The winning projects will now progress to stage two of the programme, which is expected to be completed in the next year.
At the end of stage two, project teams will have the opportunity to apply for stage three in the PTO programme.
The latest announcement from WES brings the total investment by the organisation in wave energy technology development to £11.8 million across 39 projects in less than two years, according to HIE.
WES was set up as a subsidiary of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and is fully funded by the Scottish government.