Weekly Intelligence Brief

Carbon Trust to back six technologies with £22m funding

11 February 2010

Six marine energy technologies including ones from Atlantis Resources, Hammerfest Strom UK, Marine Current Turbines (MCT) and Voith Hydro are to share £22 million funding from the Carbon Trust’s Marine Renewables Proving Fund (MRPF).

The other two firms are Aquamarine Power and Pelamis Wave Power.

As per the information available, the funding break-up for tidal technologies is as follows: MCT (£2.7m), Hammerfest Strøm UK (£3.9m) and Atlantis Resources (£5.1m). Details for Voith Hydro weren’t available.

The new finance will bridge a funding-gap that was stifling progress, according to The Carbon Trust.

All of the devices receiving MRPF funding will be deployed in UK waters. This will stimulate supply chain opportunities associated with construction and deployment of these technologies. Over 75% of the funding released through the MRPF will go to the UK supply chain.

The MRPF will accelerate the most promising marine devices towards the point where they can qualify for the governments’ existing Marine Renewable Deployment Fund (MRDF) support scheme and, ultimately, be deployed commercially at scale.

Plans shared by the companies are as follows:

·         Hammerfest Strøm UK has bagged funding for the construction and testing of a 1 MW tidal power device at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney. The tidal turbine, known as HS1000, is expected to be fully operational in Orkney by 2011. The HS1000 device is designed based on a 300kW prototype, which has been installed in Kvalsundet in Norway for the last five years. After a test period, the company will work with ScottishPower Renewables who have plans to install the device as part of a 10MW tidal power array in the Sound of Islay by 2012. This project will be the largest demonstration tidal power project in the world.

·         MCT has secured funding to support the enhancement of SeaGen. The company aims to deploy its first tidal farm in UK waters during 2012. The company is partnering RWE npower renewables to develop a 10MW tidal farm off Anglesey, and in Canada MCT is working with Minas Bay Pulp & Paper to deploy a single SeaGen device in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia during 2011.

·         Atlantis is going to use these funds for the development of its  1MW AK-1000 turbine. The company plans to take significant steps during the next 12 months towards the deployment of commercial scale tidal power farms in UK waters.

·         Voith Hydro’s solution for tidal current energy utilisation is a horizontal-axis turbine with a three-bladed rotor and a customised deployment apparatus to provide for reliable access to the system.

Read more:

Carbon Trust: http://social.tidaltoday.com/search/node/Carbon+Trust

Marine Renewables Proving Fund: http://social.tidaltoday.com/search/node/Marine+Renewables+Proving+Fund

Atlantis Resources: http://social.tidaltoday.com/search/node/Atlantis+Resources

Hammerfest Strom: http://social.tidaltoday.com/search/node/Hammerfest+Strom

Marine Current Turbines: http://social.tidaltoday.com/search/node/Marine+Current+Turbines

Voith Hydro: http://social.tidaltoday.com/search/node/Voith+Hydro