CorPower Ocean and OPS Composite Solutions have secured close to €500,000 from EEA Grants to help advance the development of a new wave energy project.
The Portuguese-Swedish wave energy developer and Norwegian engineering firm will join forces for the COMPACT (COMposite Pressure cAsing for CosT) Project, which combines wave energy technology with low-cost composite design and fabrication processes from the offshore industry.
Financial backing comes from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the EEA Grants ‘Blue Growth Programme’ - which is committed to stimulating ‘blue economy’ innovation, creating jobs and driving growth for SMEs.
The COMPACT Project aims to boost the performance and slash costs of CorPower’s next generation WECs (Wave Energy Converters), which will shortly enter the flagship HiWave-5 demonstration phase in northern Portugal.
CorPower Portugal Country Manager Miguel Silva said the latest development marks another significant milestone speeding up the process to commercialization.
“The COMPACT project combines CorPower’s world-class WEC design knowledge with OPS’ vast experience in composite pressure vessels for offshore applications,” he said. “Together we are aiming to develop new technology addressing two common challenges experienced in state-of-the-art wave energy technology – weight and price.
“The process will involve developing, testing, manufacturing and certifying an innovative light-weight pressure casing (cylinder), which is a key component of our WEC system. By making the WEC significantly lighter and using cost-effective materials and production technology, the COMPACT solution aims to increase energy efficiency while decreasing cost of energy.”
