A four-metre-high device, built and installed by local company MPM North West Ltd, is being tested to assess its capabilities of generating electricity using wave power.
If the test results for the prototype are encouraging then MPM North West could go on to build more devices for installation around the UK, with the design and manufacture taking place at their premises in Maryport, the press release reads.
The project has received funding from the Renewable Energy Test and Education Centre (RETEC), an initiative to support research into innovative, low carbon energy technologies, hosted by the University of Cumbria.
The funding helped MPM to expand their workforce and create five new jobs for the local population.
The trials are expected to last for one year.
C-Cell wave device is built with flexible curved guides that focus the incoming waves towards a central core, which drives hydraulic pistons that extract the power.
The curved shape also creates pressures on the shore face of the paddle, increasing the net forces across the paddle, both within wave crests and troughs.
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Image: UoC