New R&D fund aims to drive down cost of marine energy

The funding initiative, which forms part of the Carbon Trust’s Marine Energy Accelerator programme, aims to slash the cost of marine energy by 20 per cent using technologies adapted in some cases from the aviation and oil and gas industries.

The Carbon Trust, the Government agency set up to develop low-carbon technologies for the UK, says its targeted investment could not only boost green collar jobs, but help the UK stay within its carbon budgets by making wave and tidal power commercially feasible by 2020.

 “The UK is already leading the world in the development of marine energy and this emerging sector could provide significant economic opportunities for the UK as well as generating up to 20 per cent of our electricity needs,” said Mark Williamson, director of Innovations at the Carbon Trust. “This research into component technologies builds on existing UK industrial and academic strengths and we have identified a range of opportunities to cut costs by up to 20 per cent and improve the economic viability of marine energy.”

Globally, it is estimated that wave and tidal energy could potentially generate revenues of between £60 and £190 million a year. A key barrier to achieving these revenues, however, is the cost associated with generating marine power. Key components used in wave and tidal energy devices can make up as much as a third of the total device cost, according to the Carbon Trust.

The trust has teamed up with five academic and industrial partners with expertise from outside the marine energy field to adapt technologies, such as giant turbine blades used in the aviation industry and underwater hydraulic power networks, such as those used in the oil and gas industry.

The companies involved include Aviation Enterprises, a design and manufacturing outfit specialising in the light aviation industry, MacTaggart Scott, known for its naval equipment engineering, and JP Kenny, a subsea pipeline engineering specialist. Marine Technology International, a marine engineering company, and Edinburgh University are also partnering on the initiative.

“In the face of the economic downturn, these companies are at the forefront of an energy revolution that will see the creation of thousands of green collar jobs and a boost to the UK’s economy,” said Williamson. 

Some of the cost-effective technologies being researched include lighter and more efficient mooring systems for tidal and wave energy devices, composite tidal turbine blades, next generation linear generators for wave devices, hydraulic generators for wave and tidal applications and hydraulic arrays for power transmission from wave and tidal farms to the shore.

Commenting on the targeted funding, Angus Fleming, managing director of Aviation Enterprises Limited, said: “This support will enable us to gather test data which will advance our design and development of composite tidal turbine blades and any undersea composite structures and put it on a firm technical foundation as well as enabling costs to be minimised by efficient design.”

Overall, up to £3.5 million of support is available through the Carbon Trust’s Marine Energy Accelerator programme and a second call for 12-month research proposals in the area of cost-effective marine technologies is now open.

This latest initiative by the Carbon Trust follows the recent announcement that it is working with five major energy companies on a new £30 million initiative to bring down the costs of offshore wind power, which have more than doubled over the last five years.