Renewables for Subsea Power (RSP) project completes 12-month milestone.
- Plan to finalise Orkney project this Spring.
- Industry players to assess lessons learned and plan next steps.
A groundbreaking ocean energy project which has combined wave power with subsea energy storage to power subsea equipment has now completed a 12-month test programme at sea and will end this Spring.
The final phase will commence shortly and will include removing all equipment from the site, ahead of inspection and clean down onshore in Orkney and at Verlume’s operations facility in Dyce, Aberdeen.
The £2million Renewables for Subsea Power (RSP) project connected the Blue X wave energy converter – built by Edinburgh company Mocean Energy – with a Halo underwater battery storage system developed by Aberdeen intelligent energy management specialists, Verlume.
The industry-backed project, located 5km east of Orkney Mainland, has shown how green technologies can be combined to provide reliable and continuous low carbon power and communications to subsea equipment, offering a cost-effective future alternative to umbilical cables, which are carbon intensive with long lead times to procure and install.
In recent months energy majors TotalEnergies and Shell Technology – Marine Renewable Program have joined project leads Mocean Energy and Verlume in the pan-industry initiative, alongside PTTEP, the Thai national oil company, Serica Energy, Harbour Energy, Baker Hughes, Transmark Subsea, and the Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC).
“The test programme has been a tremendous success,” says Andy Martin, Chief Commercial Officer at Verlume.
“This phase of RSP was initially conceived as a four-month at-sea demonstration, but the quality of data and the robustness of our combined technologies as well as tremendous support from the oil majors, led us to extend the programme to a full year. We now have increasing confidence in the reliability and the commercial potential of this system.”
Ian Crossland, Commercial Director at Mocean Energy says:
“In the subsequent months, all the technology providers will examine critical components for wear and tear against performance metrics defined both individually and as a fully integrated power and communications ecosystem. A key part of this process will be assessing lessons learned and any future upgrades that may be required for a fully commercial system.”
Graeme Rogerson, Head of Net Zero Technology at NZTC says:
“It’s fantastic to see the RSP project successfully demonstrated. The work carried out during this project shows what’s possible when innovative technology is given the right financial and industry support. This is only the beginning for Mocean Energy’s Blue X wave energy converter and Verlume’s Halo underwater battery storage system; future phases will further accelerate the technology’s development and accelerate commercialisation, which is always the end goal.”
The joint industry participants and developers are now evaluating near-term and future plans for further deployment or possible testing on live assets.
This may include deploying a similar project in Scottish waters, and / or a new project or projects overseas to further demonstrate how this combination of green technologies can enable reliable low carbon power and communications to subsea equipment in a live environment.
In 2021, the consortium invested £1.6million into phase two of the programme – which saw the successful integration of the core technologies in an onshore test environment at Verlume’s operations facility in Aberdeen.
In 2021, Mocean Energy’s Blue X prototype underwent a programme of rigorous at-sea testing at the European Marine Energy Centre’s Scapa Flow test site in Orkney, where it generated first power and gathered key data on machine performance and operation.
Verlume’s subsea battery energy storage system, Halo, has been specifically designed for the harsh underwater environment, reducing operational emissions and facilitating the use of renewable energy by providing a reliable, uninterrupted power supply. Halo’s fundamental basis is its intelligent energy management system, Axonn, a fully integrated system which autonomously maximises available battery capacity in real time.
Ends
About Verlume
Aberdeen-based Verlume is a leader in intelligent energy management and storage technologies for the energy industry. Founded in 2013, the company uses its core intelligent energy management and storage technologies to enable clean, resilient, and integrated energy systems.
Verlume’s award-winning Halo technology is a scalable, modular battery energy storage system with integrated intelligent energy management, specifically developed for clean energy delivery in the demanding underwater environment.
Verlume offers a suite of products and services across the underwater and offshore sectors, helping clients to reduce carbon footprint and decarbonise operations.
Find out more at: www.verlume.world
For more information, please contact:
Graceann Robertson
Marketing Manager, Verlume
graceann.robertson@verlume.world
+44 (0) 1224 933301
About Mocean Energy
Mocean Energy is committed to designing and delivering ocean energy technology to provide offshore equipment and the grid with clean, carbon-free, renewable energy.
The successful hybridisation of wave energy with solar power, supplemented by energy storage, have been a key part of Mocean’s efforts to provide a more capable ocean energy platform for continuous power delivery. With Mocean Energy’s expert team that combines scientific principles with real-world experience, a viable and cost-effective wave energy device is on the horizon. The scalability of its core wave energy technology will feed additional markets, from islands to national energy grids.
About Net Zero Technology Centre
Net Zero Technology Centre was created as part of the Aberdeen City Region Deal, with £180million of UK and Scottish government funding to maximise the potential of the North Sea. Its purpose is to support and enhance the development and deployment of technology to accelerate an affordable net zero energy industry.
Since NZTC’s inception in 2017, it has been advocates of the role technology has in decarbonising the oil and gas industry, with more than £275million co-invested with industry in technologies from effective well plugging and abandonment, asset integrity to autonomous robotics and renewable power systems. NZTC has screened over 2,540+ new technologies, completed or progressed 175 field trials, over 35 technologies have been commercialised, 57 tech start-ups supported and helped generate £10-£15billion GVA potential for the UK economy.
For press queries, please contact:
Neil Davidson
PR Consultant to Mocean Energy
+44 (0) 7545 735402