Queen’s Belfast extends wave power collaboration with Aquamarine

Partnership

The marine renewable energy company Aquamarine Power Ltd has agreed a new five year research partnership with Queen’s University in Belfast to develop the next generation hydroelectric wave power converter.

The partners previously collaborated in the development of Aquamarine’s wave power device, Oyster, which is designed to capture the energy found in amplified surge forces in nearshore waves. The first prototype of Oyster, a hydroelectric wave power converter, is to be launched at sea for the first time this summer at the European Marine Energy Centre off the coast of Orkney, Scotland.

The Oyster system consists of a steel oscillating wave surge converter, a type of pump, fitted with double acting water pistons. It is deployed near-shore in depths around 10-12m. Each passing wave activates the pump delivering high pressure water via a sub-sea pipeline to the shore. Onshore, high-pressure water is converted to electrical power using proven, conventional hydro-electric generators. The nearshore location is easy to access, and as the most complex part of the system is onshore, it is accessible 365 days a year.

The latest five-year deal will see Aquamarine work alongside the Environmental Engineering Research Centre at Queen’s, modelling devices in the wave tanks in the Civil Engineering Department and at the Marine Biology Centre at Portaferry.

The Wave Power Research Group, led by Trevor Whittaker, from Queen’s School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering, is regarded as being among the best marine renewable energy groups in the world. The team will monitor loading, survivability and how the devices interact with each other to guarantee continuous power output in all sea states.

The partnership will provide Aquamarine with access to a second, larger wave tank due to open at Queen’s Portaferry facility which is being part-funded through the university’s Institute for a Sustainable World initiative.

The Portaferry facility will allow the team to test groups of wave power devices which can be deployed in large numbers to form off-shore power stations.

Whittaker said the Wave Power group at Queen’s specialises in the application of fundamental research to industrial development. “I am very pleased to strengthen our links with Aquamarine Power. It provides focus for the work of our research students, giving them an opportunity to participate in cutting edge research that will benefit society and the environment for current and future generations.”