IDOM commissions new PTO system for wave energy prototype

Spain-based multi-national architecture and engineering consultancy IDOM has completed commissioning of a new power take-off (PTO) system, marking a step forward in the development of advanced wave energy technologies.

According to EuropeWave, the air turbine system has now entered a six-week testing phase at the Mutriku wave power plant, one of the few grid-connected wave energy facilities worldwide. 

The testing is expected to assess the system’s performance, reliability, and efficiency under real-sea operating conditions. The results from the campaign are expected to support efforts to de-risk the technology ahead of its offshore deployment.

Following the onshore testing, the PTO will be installed on the MARMOK-A-5 wave energy converter (WEC) prototype, a full-scale floating platform designed for offshore wave energy production, EuropeWave noted. 

“Over the next 6 weeks, this air turbine will undergo a thorough testing campaign to ensure it’s ready for their open-sea deployment,” EuropeWave said.

The MARMOK-A-5, equipped with the new PTO, is scheduled for deployment at the Biscay Marine Energy Platform (BiMEP) later this summer. 

MARMOK-A-5 operates as a point absorber based on the working principle of the oscillating water column (OWC). The device first entered offshore trials in 2016, deployed at the BiMEP testing site off the north coast of Spain. In 2018, a refitted version of the device underwent a second round of open-sea trials in the Bay of Biscay under the EU-funded OPERA wave energy project. In 2022, IDOM concluded tank testing for the device.

In December 2024, IDOM reported progressing toward the offshore deployment of its wave energy prototype next summer at the BiMEP, as part of Phase 3 of the EuropeWave project.