Spain-based multi-national architecture and engineering consultancy IDOM has completed commissioning of a new power take-off (PTO) system, marking a step forward in the development of advanced wave energy technologies.
According to EuropeWave, the air turbine system has now entered a six-week testing phase at the Mutriku wave power plant, one of the few grid-connected wave energy facilities worldwide.
The testing is expected to assess the system’s performance, reliability, and efficiency under real-sea operating conditions. The results from the campaign are expected to support efforts to de-risk the technology ahead of its offshore deployment.
Following the onshore testing, the PTO will be installed on the MARMOK-A-5 wave energy converter (WEC) prototype, a full-scale floating platform designed for offshore wave energy production, EuropeWave noted.
“Over the next 6 weeks, this air turbine will undergo a thorough testing campaign to ensure it’s ready for their open-sea deployment,” EuropeWave said.
The MARMOK-A-5, equipped with the new PTO, is scheduled for deployment at the Biscay Marine Energy Platform (BiMEP) later this summer.
MARMOK-A-5 operates as a point absorber based on the working principle of the oscillating water column (OWC). The device first entered offshore trials in 2016 , deployed at the BiMEP testing site off the north coast of Spain. In 2018, a refitted version of the device underwent a second round of open-sea trials in the Bay of Biscay under the EU-funded OPERA wave energy project. In 2022, IDOM concluded tank testing for the device .
In December 2024, IDOM reported progressing toward the offshore deployment of its wave energy prototype next summer at the BiMEP, as part of Phase 3 of the EuropeWave project.