The first Subhub tidal platform, developed by QED Naval, has been named Kraken at a ceremony held on 9 March in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where it has been fabricated by the engineering company Cimpina.
After being awarded a contract by QED Naval last year, Cimpina began working on Subhub in November 2016 and the outer shell of the platform was already taking shape before end of 2016.
Subhub is designed to commission, test, transport, install, and secure a mini array of wave and tidal turbines to the seabed.
The platform is scheduled to soon be deployed at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) for marine operations to validate claims of the Subhub tidal platform, which include enhanced power output and site capacity factors, as well as cost reduction of the deployment and retrieval through a single marine operation.
QED Naval will conduct Subhub testing in three phases and will use the FORESEA funding for the trials.
The first phase involves the installation and recovery trials at the scale tidal test site using replica turbines and equipment, followed by integrating Schottel Hydro SIT-250 turbines to provide Subhub with a capacity of 190kW.
The second phase revolves around installing Subhub at the Falls of Warness tidal test site to demonstrate the installation and recovery of the system over a wide spectrum of tidal flow and wave heights. Furthermore, the second phase will demonstrate long term deployment capabilities, operational stability of Subhub’s gravity based anchoring system, and performance characteristics of the turbines.
The final phase of the testing will be used to assess the environmental impacts of a longer term deployment and demonstrate the ability of the Subhub to be quickly and easily decommissioned from the site.