Ecosse IP set to advance MOWT system with TEAMER backing

Scottish technology development company Ecosse IP (EIP) has announced plans to optimise its hydrokinetic system, dubbed Mass of Water Turbine (MOWT), in collaboration with Sandia National Laboratories as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s TEAMER programme.

The project will see the team at EIP progress its MOWT system to the next phase of development, following successful trials on the prototype device in 2020.

EIP will be working with the Wind and Water Power Technologies team at Sandia National Laboratories to begin an optimisation process of the system ahead of further prototype testing later in 2021, the company said.

“By optimising the device using the significant expertise of a national laboratory, EIP believes that the resulting step change in the design capabilities will lead to greater efficiency of power output in slow moving water. This will lead to cheaper and more effective devices being deployed more rapidly”, it is stated on the TEAMER project description.

The MOWT system is a high torque hydrokinetic turbine which can generate predictable power from slow moving water. MOWT can be deployed in rivers, coastal waters or subsea for power generation, according to EIP.

In addition, it can be used for water desalination or purification in island and remote communities, flood prevention, as well as pumping water for cost-effective irrigation in the developing world.

EIP’s project is one of the 23 marine energy projects that have recently been selected to receive testing support from the Testing Expertise and Access to Marine Energy Research (TEAMER) programme.

TEAMER’s mission is to accelerate the viability of marine renewables by providing access to the best facilities and expertise across the US in order to solve challenges, build knowledge, foster innovation and drive commercialisation.

According to TEAMER project, the MOWT system is currently at technology readiness level (TRL) of 4/5, denoting the technologies developed to the level of experimental proof of concept, and validated in lab.

So far, scaled testing has been carried out to quantify mechanical power production, while the CFD modelling will aid the overall optimisation of the device.

On completion of the second phase demonstration, it is anticipated that MOWT will be at TRL 7–8, showing that the MOWT system is almost ready for commercial deployment.