Deep water tidal device enjoys funding flow

Marine energy specialist Aquamarine Power yesterday announced it has committed to make a "significant investment" in Ocean Flow Energy, a UK-based start up that claims to have developed an innovative generator capable of harnessing energy from deep water tidal flows.

The company said the undisclosed sum would be used to help commercialise Ocean Flow Energy's Evopod device, a moored, semi-submersible structure designed to generate electricity in exposed, deep water sites.

Ocean Flow Energy developed the device in conjunction with the New and Renewable Energy Centre (NaREC) at Blyth in the north east of England and a tidal power research group at Queen's University Belfast.

The team recently finished successfully testing a one-tenth scale prototype in Northern Ireland's Strangford Lough.

Graeme Mackie, managing director at Ocean Flow Energy, said the investment represented a significant milestone on the path to commercialisation of the device, which uses a propellor-like turbine to generate power from tidal flows.

"We have made significant progress with the device to date, taking it out of the tank and into real tidal flow conditions at Strangford," he said. "Together with Aquamarine Power we are looking forward to launching a second, full scale device at sea."

Martin McAdam, chief executive of Aquamarine Power, said the new technology's ability to generate energy from deep water estuaries would give it a competitive advantage over many existing tidal generators that are only suited to calmer, shallower waters.

"With more than 50 per cent of the UK’s tidal resource located in waters greater than 40 metres deep, the market demand for Evopod is expected to be very strong and Aquamarine Power will be taking full advantage of that," he said.

The announcement is the latest in a series of investment deals for the burgeoning UK marine energy sector and comes just days after Cardiff-based Tidal Energy Limited unveiled plans for a 1MW trial installation of its DeltaStream horizontal turbines off the coast of Wales.