MEECE launches tender and recruiting spree

The Marine Energy Engineering Centre of Excellence (MEECE) at Swansea University is looking for biaxial-machine tenders.

Namely, Fatigue loads often drive the load regime experienced by wind, wave and tidal devices.

Therefore, there is significant scope for cost reduction through characterisation of new materials for fatigue under correct operational conditions.

Flexible elastomeric membrane structures are being utilised by wave energy developers.

These membranes are under complex fatigue loads of varying biaxiality under submerged seawater conditions, MEECE explains.

Currently, these structures do not have a UK-based fatigue testing resources under the expected loads encountered in subsea conditions.

Therefore, development of a small-scale biaxial fatigue machine has been proposed for testing under submerged conditions for elastomeric materials.

The tender will remain open until 16 September 2020, with contract award date estimated for mid-October same year.

The MEECE is a multi-million-pound collaboration between ORE Catapult and Welsh universities, funded by the Welsh European Funding Office.

Based at Pembroke Dock, the Centre will deliver research, development and demonstration activities to support innovation in the Welsh supply chain, accelerating the commercialisation of marine renewables by reducing cost of energy.

MEECE will support innovative companies in West Wales and the Valleys region develop new products, processes and services for the offshore renewables sector.

Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult (ORE Catapult) is recruiting for two posts to be based within their Marine Energy Engineering Centre of Excellence (MEECE).

Innovation Manager based within the Marine Energy Engineering Centre of Excellence (MEECE) situated within Research & Disruptive Innovation Directorate.

Innovation manager will support engagement with Welsh SMEs, exploring with them the opportunity for MEECE to deliver innovation projects on their behalf, allowing them to develop innovations that they may not be currently able to resource.

Research Engineer will also have the same base within MEECE.

He or she will support delivery of innovation projects. involving, inter alia, design, specification, construction and testing of components, subassemblies, small prototypes and full products for the marine energy sector.

Both posts will be part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Last chance to apply for these two jobs is 11 September 2020.

Current projects that MEECE is already investigating include:

• Feasibility studies of a floating wave energy converter that has the potential to co-locate with floating wind. This project includes numerical modeling, resource mapping and cost of energy analyses.

• Investigation of a novel heat-exchanger fluid with the potential to improve cooling systems on large wind turbines.

As part of this project, MEECE looked to build a test rig to demonstrate the fluid in a representative context.

• Prototyping and testing a novel vertical axis turbine technology.

MEECE will build a small prototype and test it at Cardiff and Swansea Universities, leading to further testing in META.

A Marine Energy Test Area (META) led by Marine Energy Wales within the Milford Haven Waterway, will enable technology developers to test their devices near their base of operation.

META phase one officially rolled out for business in September 2019.

For the purpose of META, Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum (PCF), a comunity interest company behind Marine Energy Wales, is now on the lookout for META operations manager.

The operations manager will oversee the operation and ongoing delivery of the META project.

Tasks will range from fulfilling the requisite HSEQ requirements for safe marine operations whilst minimising the risk exposure faced by PCF in operating a test site in a busy waterway to assisting with business development activities, as well as liaising with potential customers to META to facilitate the testing of marine renewable energy technology deployments.

Internally the operations manager will work closely with the MEW programme manager, META project manager and also marketing and communications manager to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of the META project.

External relations will require interfaces with the Port of Milford Haven as well as relevant stakeholders to ensure that processes and systems for all META site operations are suitable for the area, wider users and provide the maximum benefit for the sector.

Those interested for this position can apply until Friday 2 October.