Newcastle University has revealed plans to install a prototype Wave Energy Converter (WEC) in the North Sea.
MU-EDRIVE aims to demonstrate the marinisation and upscaling of All Electric Drive Trains for wave energy converters.
Led by Newcastle University’s Dr Nick Baker, MU-EDRIVE is a collaboration between Dr Serkan Turkman and Professor Jeff Neasham at Newcastle University and Professor Markus Mueller from the University of Edinburgh.
The Newcastle team will install a generator and power converter to a buoy mounted 3km off the Northumberland coast at Blyth in spring 2024 for a 12-month period.
Once installed, the prototype will provide vital operational data while testing the newest corrosion and anti-fouling technologies which will progress the understanding of the robustness of WECs in situ.
The Edinburgh team will design, build and test a magnetic gear in partnership with Mocean Energy to demonstrate upscaling of electrical power take off systems.
Dr Baker, Reader in Emerging Electrical Machines & Senior Lecturer at Newcastle University, commented: “With regards to achieving the ambitious goal of net zero by 2050, it is essential to look at the energy system as a whole.
“The upscaling aim of the MU-EDRIVE project will help to reduce costs of energy production as devices get larger, making the energy easier and more affordable for access and usage. It’s hard to know what a wave energy device will look like in 10 years’ time. Thinking back to 10 years ago, offshore wind turbine technologies were in their infancy – this could be the same for wave energy now.”