Scottish company Mocean Energy has selected TEXO Engineering & Fabrication (TEXO E&F) as its preferred fabrication, assembly and load-out contractor for the Blue Star and Blue Horizon wave energy converters.
Aberdeen-headquartered TEXO E&F was chosen by Mocean Energy after a competitive tendering process and is already providing technical support to design the wave energy developer’s products for manufacture.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) has already been signed, and the intention is that a formal fabrication and assembly contract will be agreed, following design completion, according to the companies.
Mocean Energy is based in Edinburgh and Aberdeen and specializes in designing and delivering wave energy converters to power ocean equipment and the grid with clean, carbon-free, renewable energy .
The company is developing two wave energy technologies: Blue Star , a device that will power a range of subsea equipment, including autonomous vehicles and control systems; and Blue Horizon , a much larger machine designed to generate grid-scale electricity in off-coast wave farms.
Cameron McNatt , managing director of Mocean Energy, said: “TEXO E&F has a tremendous track record of the manufacture of complex technology for the offshore environment and is the ideal partner to fabricate our next-generation machines.
“From the beginning, our technology has been made in Scotland, and through selecting TEXO E&F we are ensuring our supply chain remains home grown. This underscores the wider economic benefits a thriving wave energy sector can bring to Scotland and the UK.”
Donny Marshall , divisional director at TEXO E&F, added: “We are delighted to be working with Mocean on its cutting-edge wave energy technology. Their Blue Star product is currently in its design to manufacture phase and is being tailored to be built at our dedicated fabrication facility in Dundee.”
Following the successful first deployment of their Blue X prototype demonstrator in Orkney in 2021, Mocean Energy deployed Blue X in the seas off Orkney again earlier in March 2023 , and connected with a Halo underwater battery developed by intelligent energy management specialist Verlume.
The £2million (€2.7 million) demonstrator project, called Renewables for Subsea Power (RSP) , brings together consortium partners including Verlume, Baker Hughes, Serica Energy, Harbour Energy, Transmark Subsea, and Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC).