Shell has joined the Renewables for Subsea Power (RSP) collaborative project, which is currently powering subsea equipment off the coast of Orkney through a combination of wave power and energy storage.
The £2m demonstrator initiative, which is currently nearing 12 months in the water, has connected the Blue X wave energy converter – built by Edinburgh company Mocean Energy – with a Halo underwater battery storage system developed by Aberdeen intelligent energy management specialists Verlume.
The fully operational project, located 5km east of the Orkney Mainland, aims to show how green technologies can be combined to provide reliable low carbon power and communications to subsea equipment, offering a cost-effective alternative to umbilical cables, which are carbon intensive with long lead times to procure and install.
The new investment has come via the Shell Technology – Marine Renewable Program, a global R&D group pursuing the mission of finding, screening, testing, and developing marine renewable energy technologies to achieve more value with lower emissions and help build the critical energy infrastructure for the Blue Economy to grow and thrive.
They will now join project leads Mocean Energy and Verlume, alongside industry players Baker Hughes, Serica Energy, Harbour Energy, Transmark Subsea, PTTEP, TotalEnergies and the Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC).
Mocean Energy commercial director Ian Crossland said: “This new investment by Shell underscores the international interest in our pan-industry project and we look forward to working with them and exploring potential new applications for RSP’s combined technologies.”
Verlume chief commercial officer Andy Martin added: “With the Renewables for Subsea Power project being operational now for 10 months, I am proud of what has been achieved both technically and commercially to date, alongside the calibre of the industry partners that are involved.
“It is great that Shell is now joining the project, a company that we have been working with for some time. I am looking forward to continuing our close working relationship.”
Head of net zero technology at NZTC Graeme Rogerson said: “It’s fantastic to see the Renewables for Subsea Power project go from strength to strength, having supported the project since 2019.
“Mocean Energy’s Blue X wave energy converter and Verlume’s Halo underwater battery storage system have demonstrated their effectiveness in delivering low carbon power and communication to offshore subsea infrastructure. Shell’s investment and the opportunity to continue to test in a real-world environment will help to further progress the technologies.”