Created in 2004, AWS Ocean Energy is currently focusing on the development and delivery of its AWS-III wave energy converter, a floating device with a rated power output of 2.5MW. Support from the Scottish Enterprise-administered WATERS fund (Wave and Tidal Energy: Research, Development and Demonstration Support) enabled a 1:9 scale model of the AWS-III to be tested in Loch Ness in 2010.
“We are extremely excited about entering the wave energy market at this pivotal time,” said Philippe Cochet, Senior Vice President Hydro & Wind, alstom. “Our engagement with AWS forms an important part of the strategic development of our recently created business activity, Alstom Ocean. Having reviewed many different technologies, and undertaken further detailed analysis with the most promising, we are absolutely confident that AWS-III is a technology that perfectly complements our existing ocean activities: tidal energy and offshore wind, while further reinforcing Alstom’s position as a leading supplier of clean energy solutions.”
“We are very pleased to work with Alstom to further develop the AWS-III technology: the investment is a significant step forward for AWS and for the wave energy sector as a whole,” added Simon Grey, CEO AWS Ocean Energy. “Their support, and that of the Scottish Government, is both an endorsement of what we have achieved so far and a major source of motivation to continue developing this technology.”
Under the new deal, Alstom will be a shareholder in the company alongside Shell Technology Ventures Fund 1 and Scottish Investment Bank. The acquisition complements the existing activities of Alstom’s Ocean Energy business in Nantes, France, where the company is developing its 1MW commercial-scale tidal turbine prototype, the BELUGA 9.
