Wave Energy Scotland (WES) has announced the list of successful contract awards following its first international, competitive open call. The first call focused on innovative Power Take-Off systems for wave energy devices.
Over £7m has been awarded to 16 technology developers and consortia, from countries including UK, USA, Italy and Sweden, all looking for investment to advance their technology through rigorous testing and, in time, towards commercialisation. Contracted amounts range from £78,000 for concept optimisation, up to £2M for later stage prototype development.
The open call received 42 full proposals which met the specific ‘gate entry’ criteria in order to be assessed. Each successful project has been awarded up to 100 percent financial support for their technology development projects. WES is focused on the development of low cost, efficient and reliable components and subsystems that can be shared by wave energy technology developers.
Fergus Ewing, Minster for Energy, the Scottish Government said: ‘‘This is a hugely significant day for Wave Energy Scotland (WES). WES is running the biggest technology programme the wave sector has ever seen. Since the launch last year, there has been global interest in what the new organisation was planning to do. Therefore I am delighted to see the first contracts being awarded to technology developers. Scottish businesses are involved in the overwhelming majority of the projects and this is testament to the number of innovative companies operating in Scotland. The Scottish Government is committed to supporting this important sector and we are confident that Scotland will continue to hold its world class status as a thriving country for wave energy technology development.”
Tim Hurst, Managing Director, Wave Energy Scotland said: “WES’ ambition is to accelerate the wave industry in Scotland and maintain our leading global position. The interest we received was truly international and as the finalists show, the call has driven a significant level of collaboration between a wide range of interested parties. We can now get started on delivering material outcomes for the sector through these projects and we are looking forward to supporting them all going forward.”
Steve Thomson, Chair of the WES Advisory Group said: “It is really exciting to be part of WES and to be helping support this innovative sector. The interest that the PTO call received is really impressive and the quality of applications showed that there are some disruptive ideas out there that will help make wave energy a commercial reality. WES’ role is to nurture these and help get them across the line to create a prosperous wave energy sector in Scotland.”
Wave Energy Scotland was set up as a subsidiary of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and is fully funded by the Scottish Government.
Image: WavePOD, one of the projects that won the WES contract. (CWE)