EuropeWave, an R&D programme for wave energy technology, has reserved berths at the open-water test sites of the Biscay Marine Energy Platform (BiMEP) in the Basque Country, Spain, and the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, Scotland.
The berths were reserved for the final phase – Phase 3 – of the EuropeWave programme which will see three prototype wave energy converter systems deployed in the spring of 2025 for a 12-month demonstration and operational testing programme.
Two systems will be deployed at the BiMEP test site, and one system deployed at EMEC’s Billia Croo test site.
Phase 2 of the programme recently got underway with five contractors progressing with a front-end engineering design (FEED) of their scale prototype device intended for the open-water trials in Phase 3.
Three contractors will be selected to proceed to Phase 3 in the summer of 2023.
The EuropeWave project is a partnership between Wave Energy Scotland (WES ) and the Basque Energy Agency (EVE) to deliver a five-year collaborative R&D funding programme with match-funding through the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme. The transnational collaboration will channel almost €20 million to procure the most promising wave energy technology solutions.
Tim Hurst , Managing Director of Wave Energy Scotland (WES), said: “Reserving berths at EMEC and BiMEP is a key milestone for the EuropeWave programme that secures access to the test sites for the Phase 3 technology demonstrations. Deploying and operating devices in real-sea conditions is the ultimate challenge of the EuropeWave programme, demonstrating performance of the devices and their sub-systems and providing real-world learning about operational practices.”
Endika Aldaiturriaga , Project Manager of EVE, added: “ The signature of these agreements is a fundamental step towards successful achievement of EuropeWave project objectives; the design, deployment and testing of three promising technologies in open sea.
“These deployments will take place in well-prepared and recognized testing areas, that bring extensive experience in hosting wave energy converter tests, facilitating the job for the developers and giving them confidence in the sector-wide recognition of their work. For the EuropeWave Buyer’s Group, collaboration with BiMEP and EMEC is a guarantee of quality on the results and robustness on the process we are pushing forward.”