New Type Of Floating Wave Energy Converter Deployed At Biscay Platform For Testing & Research

A new kind of prototype wave energy converter, developed by Spain-based IDOM, has been deployed at the Biscay Marine Energy Platform (BiMEP), an open-sea facility which undertakes research and testing of prototype devices.

It is the first wave energy converter to be connected to the Spanish state electricity grid, and one of the first devices connected in the world.

The new floating wave energy converter MARMOK A 5 features controllable blades, battery systems and intelligent management systems to optimise its performance in real-time on the high seas.

The MARMOK-A-5 is 42 m long and has a 5 m in diameter, with a displacement of 162Tm. It works using an oscillating water column technology, which transforms wave motion into electricity through a turbine.

The device is being tested at the facility’s marine testing area, which lies off Bizkaia, highlighting its role in the research of marine energy technologies in Europe.

The prototype will be judged on the basis of performance, reliability, safety, ease of maintenance, robustness in a challenging marine environment, and the gathered data on all these parameters will help guide development in pre-commercial stages of the technology.

The energy converter will be electrically linked to the network via the lab platform, which is integrated into the BiMEP infrastructure, enabling the evacuation of the generated energy and monitoring system performance during testing.

A similar technology was tested at the facility between 2016 and 2019, but this endeavour will allow to obtaining validation for the system and information about its scalability in future.

Borja de Miguel, Project Manager at IDOM, said, “This deployment is a pivotal milestone for IDOM and the EuropeWave programme. Building on previous offshore installation and testing campaigns, it validates years of design, engineering and learning, and marks the start of an offshore commissioning phase where we expect to demonstrate improved performance from the MARMOK A-5 in real sea conditions.”

Miguel added that achieving safe installation and grid connection at BiMEP is a major step towards bringing wave energy closer to reality.

It has also functioned as a test platform for the Horizon 2020 OPERA project, in which innovations of many European companies and institutions have been tested, including turbines and mooring systems, which could decrease the cost of generating energy by over 50%.