£3million investment in wave energy projects

Laura Hodgetts
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Wave Energy Scotland has announced the results of its latest funding allocation, with 10 projects named as beneficiaries.

The projects, devised by individual companies and partnerships, will explore the potential of different materials and processes in the production of wave energy converters (WECs); devices that convert ocean waves into electricity.

Currently these devices are predominantly made from steel, which is strong and durable but costly and susceptible to corrosion.

Alternative materials have not yet been sufficiently investigated for their longevity in harsh marine conditions. Finding a material that works well in the sea and is cheaper to produce will increase commercial viability of converters.

The Wave Energy Scotland (WES) funded Structural Materials and Manufacturing Process (SMMP) projects will investigate the use of materials such as rubbers, plastics, concrete or combinations of these to build wave energy converters, and then test how well they survive in different sea conditions.

This latest announcement from WES brings the total investment by the organisation in wave energy development to £15million across 51 projects in less than two years.

Minister for business, innovation and energy, Paul Wheelhouse said: ‘Continued innovation is vital in emerging renewable technologies such as wave energy. This funding could result in longer lasting wave converters that are better able to harness the power of the sea and more efficiently turn it into renewable energy.

‘Wave energy has great potential to contribute to Scotland’s energy supply and that of the UK and EU and I am aware of the strong interest in the technology in international markets beyond the EU too. If we are able to maximise the economic potential of this important energy resource, there are great opportunities to generate exports to the rest of the world where Scotland is, rightly seen as being at the forefront of the development of the sector.

‘I would like to congratulate the successful applicants and look forward, alongside the team of Wave Energy Scotland to seeing the results of their ongoing work.’

Tim Hurst, managing director of WES, added: ‘We were delighted with the huge response to our call for SMMP projects, with many new organisations submitting applications. The successful projects present a superb opportunity to bring further skills and experience that can be shared with others in the WES programmes and make further progress towards commercialising the wave energy sector.’

WES was set up as a subsidiary of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) in December 2014 and is fully funded by the Scottish Government. The organisation is seen as a fresh approach to tackling the issues which have proved challenging in the wave energy sector.

Details of the 10 successful SMMP projects are available here.