Wave energy pilot to power offshore vessels

Carnegie Clean Energy has launched wave energy MoorPowerTM Scaled Demonstrator project in conjunction with prominent research institute, the Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre (Blue Economy CRC). 

MoorPowerTM is a CETO derived wave energy product designed for moored vessels and offers a solution to the challenge of securing clean and reliable energy for offshore activities, reducing reliance on diesel generation. 

The initial target market for MoorPowerTM is offshore vessels such as feeding barges for the aquaculture sector, but the future market is broader and includes the many other offshore operations that require energy. 

Over the next 2 years, Carnegie will design, install and operate a scaled demonstrator of the MoorPowerTM technology just offshore from its headquarters and research facility in North Fremantle, Western Australia.

This $3.4m (€2.2m) MoorPowerTM Scaled Demonstrator project will be delivered with funding support from the Blue Economy CRC and in close collaboration with a consortium of partners including two of Australia’s largest aquaculture companies, Huon Aquaculture and Tassal Group.

Academic and industry partners include DNV GL Australia, Advanced Composite Structures Australia, University of Tasmania, Climate KIC/Australian Ocean Energy Group, AMC Search and University of Queensland.

The project is supported by $1.35m cash from the Blue Economy CRC, $265k cash from Carnegie and $1.8m of in-kind support from all the project partners.

MoorPowerTM was developed by Carnegie with the goal of decarbonising the energy needs of offshore operations, particularly in aquaculture.

As the aquaculture sector moves operations further offshore, operations such as feeding barges will no longer have access to shore-based power and the reliance on diesel generators comes with many associated costs, carbon emissions and environmental risks, including fuel storage and spillage risks while refuelling offshore.

This challenge presents an opportunity to utilise wave energy, an untapped energy source constantly flowing around offshore facilities. Ocean Energy Europe (OEE) forecasts significant growth for wave energy with a €653bn market potential by 2050.

MoorPowerTM can be deployed for any type of moored vessel and is not limited to fish farming, according to Carnegie.  

Its vision for the MoorPowerTM product is that the technology will be an integrated solution with other offshore renewable energy systems including hydrogen and batteries. 

Carnegie has incorporated aspects of its proprietary core CETO wave energy technology into MoorPowerTM.

The core CETO technology has a submerged buoy that sits a few metres below the surface of the ocean, moving with the waves.

This orbital motion drives a Power Take-Off (PTO) system that converts the wave motion into electricity energy. MoorPowerTM is a spin-off from CETO; it takes key CETO components such as the PTO and offers an alternative configuration for a new market application. 

Blue Economy CRC chief executive Dr John Whittington said: "We look forward to the opportunities the MoorPowerTM technology presents to the aquaculture sector and the expansion into high energy offshore sites utilising clean and reliable energy solutions. 

"The project allows the opportunity for collaboration between experts in the field led by Carnegie Clean Energy together with project partners across the country."

Carnegie’s chief executive Jonathan Fiévez added: "MoorPowerTM reduces or removes the reliance on diesel and provides clean, reliable, predictable energy to support the growth of a diverse sustainable blue economy.

"The technology also expands our market reach, while complementing the technical advancements being made on our CETO technology.

"We are excited to expand our product portfolio with the addition of MoorPowerTM and are eager to progress and deliver both the CETO and MoorPowerTM products to the market. 

"The elegance of the MoorPowerTM aquaculture application for Carnegie is that these barges constantly move with the waves already and we have the electricity customer and an existing prime mover (the infrastructure being moved by the waves) in one pre-existing package.

"We are essentially optimising our CETO power take-off and controller to suit the application and provide a competitive offering. 

"Wave energy has the benefits of consistency and predictability, and in some places, wave may be the only renewable energy that is practical.

"With an enormous resource that is largely untapped, wave energy is only set to grow, and working on joint initiatives like the MoorPowerTM project, will accelerate and strengthen the advancement of these technologies on a global scale."