GKinetic Energy has received close to €100,000 from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) to carry out further optimization and testing of its tidal technology this summer.
This funding will see the deployment of an improved prototype device at purpose built test facility the company set up working with Shannon Foynes Port Company in the Limerick Docks.
GKinetic said it will collaborate with NUI Galway, Centre for Marine and Renewable Energy (MaREI), and Numerics Warehouse to carry out optimization tests on key components of the device.
The Irish-based tidal energy developer will use data instruments from Queen’s University Belfast, a custom winch from Windworks and a crane made available by the port for deploying and lifting out the device.
Testing is projected to run for a 6-week period starting in August. The trials follow GKinetic’s testing campaign in the Limerick Docks from last year, where the deployment method and device stability were tested and improved.
GKinetic is ramping up plans to design, build and demonstrate a 250kW tidal device after setting up a consortium of EU project partners.
In March this year, machine builders, DesignPro secured Horizon 2020 funding to commercialize small scale river devices using GKinetic’s technology.
GKinetic also said that over the last year, significant effort went into the development of device’s power take-off (PTO) system, with the support from MaREI and LiR, resulting in the definition of the control laws for the device.