Checkmate Seaenergy Ltd is pleased to announce it has signed a contract with Wave Energy Scotland for the funding of research and development services to further develop the Anaconda wave energy converter. The contract provides for 100% of Seaenergy’s project costs and has been awarded following its submission to Wave Energy Scotland’s competitive Novel Wave Energy Converter funding call in August 2015.
Wave Energy Scotland was established in late 2014 as part of Highlands and Islands Enterprise and is fully funded by the Scottish Government. Wave Energy Scotland provides funding packages for the development of innovative technologies to produce low cost, efficient and reliable components and subsystems which can form the basis of cost effective wave energy generation in Scotland.
The first part of the project scope coverstank testing of Anaconda models at 1:25 scale to investigate how energy performance will vary in response to a range of possible design features intended to improve survivability at sea. The second part of the scope covers the creation of a framework for a suitable numerical modelling tool.
Seaenergy is also pleased to announce that consulting engineers Black & Veatch based in Redhill, Surrey have been contracted to manage the project in addition to providing technical support to the Seaenergy team. Black & Veatch are leaders in the engineering of marine renewable energy systems and bring considerable experience of wave energy converters and tank testing to the project.They specialise in helping clients to develop dependable, sustainable and renewable energy solutions. The Black & Veatch team will be led by Dr John Fitzgerald, Chief Engineer, Sustainable Energy Systems.
The tank testing and analysis will be executed by the University of Strathclyde at its Kelvin Hydrodynamics Laboratory in Glasgow. The Strathclyde contribution will be led by Professor Sandy Day whose team has extensive experience in the tank testing of wave energy converters at their state-of-the-art laboratory facilities. Seaenergy are pleased to be co-operating with the Strathclyde University once again having conducted extensive Anaconda model tests there over recent years.
Seaenergy has further contracted with INNOSEA Ltd,the Edinburgh-based spin-off company of Ecole Centrale de Nantes, France to develop the Anaconda numerical model. INNOSEA are recognised numerical modelling experts in the fields of aerodynamics, hydrodynamics, structural analysis and geotechnical engineering. Experienced hydrodynamicist Dr Remy Pascal will lead the INNOSEA contribution.