EU pours more money into Scottish tidal research in the face of Brexit
A EUROPEAN tidal power research group will be lead by a Scottish tidal energy firm after it secures €4.4m of funding from the European Commission.
Nova Innovation along with Dutch and German companies will test a new tidal turbine mechanism which designers hope will make tidal power less expensive and more reliable.
The Tidal Turbine Power Take-off project will be conducted for 3 years and despite being constructed mainly in Germany but will be tested in-sea conditions in Scotland.
Last year, Nova Innovation’s projected located in the Shetland Islands at the Bluemull Sound became the first tidal project in the world to deliver power to a national grid.
European Commission spokespersons made it clear that such funding would not be jepordised by any “circustances surrounding Brexit” as Scotland is seen as a top pirotiy for collaborating on research.
“In line with the aims of European cooperation we will continue to support a common European approach to technological development and innovation.” European Commission
Commenting on the funding Simon Forrest, managing director of Nova Innovation, said: “We are delighted to collaborate with our European partner organisations to deliver the take-off project to develop and demonstrate our innovative direct drive PTO for tidal turbines.
“This will be a major step forwards for the global sector and significantly drive down the lifetime cost of tidal energy.
“We are extremely appreciative to the European Commission for their belief in our technology and sector, and are really looking forward to taking the PTO onwards to a commercial reality for the industry.”
Engineering experts working on the tests say that the technology, when commercialised, have the potential to reduce the lifetime costs of tidal power by 20 per cent attracting more investors both private and public. It will also mean that the turbines generating energy will have a greater degree of reliability.
“We are extremely appreciative to the European Commission for their belief in our technology and sector, and are really looking forward to taking the PTO onwards to a commercial reality for the industry.” Simon Forrest
The €4.4m is being granted under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for research and innovation.
Speaking to CommonSpace a spokesperson from the European Commission said: “In line with the aims of European cooperation we will continue to support a common European approach to technological development and innovation.”
“Using common research practices was the best chance to tackle climate change effectively”, it added.
The EU funding has enabled various organisations to come together from all over the EU, all of which have complementary expertise. Nova Innovation, the Edinburgh based firm will be joined by Siemens plc who are in charge of the electronics, SKF a Swedish designer of bearings and seals and Sgurr Energy a renewables consulting company from Glasgow.
There are also three educational establishments involved being the University of Edinburgh, Aachen University in Germany and Delft Technical University, north of Rotterdam.
Picture courtesy of YouTube
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