Wave firm hones technology with new partnership
Wednesday 20 May 2009
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| Orecon have added Dresser-Rand's turbine technology to its own oscillating wave column design |
Marine energy firm Orecon is to fine tune its wave power technology with Texan turbine engineering company Dresser-Rand, it was announced on Thursday.
The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding that will see to Dresser-Rand help to optimise the chamber and turbine design for Orecon's the multi-resonant chamber (MRC) wave power device.
The device will combine oscillating water column technology with Dresser-Rand's HydroAir bi-directional air impulse turbine.
Cornwall-based Orecon said in a statement: "By sharing technologies, the companies will provide total oscillating water column-based solutions backed by Dresser-Rand's global service network.
"Together we will be able to provide clients with a high level of confidence in the emerging wave energy market that is normally available only in long-established markets such as oil and gas," the company added.
"Breakthrough"
The firm said that, despite the simplicity of the oscillating water column, the technology's weakness has been low efficiency.
Orecon said: "Orecon has made a technological breakthrough with the MRC by combining multiple chambers to increase the bandwidth of energy capture and Dresser-Rand's highly efficient impulse turbine."
At present, Orecon is set to be deployed at Wave Hub after the site is completed in 2011.
In March the South West Regional Development Agency, which is developing Wave Hub, announced that it had signed an agreement with Orecon to occupy the fourth berth, after an Australian partner pulled out (see this New Energy Focus story).
Orecon, which was founded in 2002 as a spin-out business from the University of Plymouth, raised around 24 million US dollars in private investment for the development of its wave to energy buoy, which it will now deploy at the project.
And the firm, which has its offices in Bodmin, is planning to use £12 million invested by a syndicate of venture capitalists to deploy the first full-scale device before moving on to the commercial roll-out of its technology.
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