Nova Innovation’s Direct Drive Tidal Turbine (D2T2) project is one of three finalists at the EU Sustainable Energy Awards.
The shortlisted projects aim to make the sustainable energy transition a reality for communities all over Europe.
The Horizon 2020-funded D2T2 project involved the installation of the world’s first offshore tidal device in Scotland.
Nova’s tidal energy device is reducing the total costs of producing tidal energy by 30%.
Nova Innovation chief executive Simon Forrest said: “There is a revolution in tidal energy technologies taking place right here in Europe. We are heading into the manufacturing phase including an order for 15 turbines in Canada.
“I envisage the roll-out of our technology to coastal European countries, south-east Asia and Japan happening over the coming decade.”
During D2T2 Nova’s technology has become part of the local economic ecosystem in the Shetland Islands, serving as an example for other regions as a dependable source of energy and job creation.
The second finalist is the Remote area Energy supply with Multiple Options for integrated hydrogen-based Technologies (REMOTE).
REMOTE, which has been implemented in Italy, Greece and Norway, is rolling out hydrogen and battery-based energy storage technology at test sites.
The third finalist is the Individual Building Renovation Roadmaps (iBRoad) project, which supports single-family houses in setting-up personalised renovation plans to make smart financial and energy-efficient plans for renovations to improve their home over the next 5-30 years.
Meanwhile Finnish company AW-Energy (AWE), developer of the WaveRoller wave energy converter, has received the EU Seal of Excellence award from Horizon 2020.
The award follows the company’s project submission to the EU’s EIC Accelerator programme.
AWE chief executive Christopher Ridgewell said: “We are delighted our project is recognised with the EU Seal of Excellence.
“It clearly demonstrates recognition of our commercial competence and excellence in innovation, supported by our in-house technical expertise, to deliver a market-ready device that is tested and proven as a near-shore wave energy converter (WEC).”
An international judging panel including business angels, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and experts from innovation hubs, evaluated AWE’s wave energy project.
It was judged to provide “strong added-value, being commercially viable and better than existing solutions on the market”.
AWE’s technology helps to extract energy from waves that are accessible to 80% of the world’s largest cities, which are in coastal areas.
WaveRoller is also the first marine energy technology to be qualified through certification by Lloyd’s Register to mitigate risks, and provide investors with confidence in the delivery of functional wave energy technology.