Mocean Energy Ltd. is a

wave energy Wave power is the capture of energy of wind waves to do useful work – for example, electricity generation, desalination, or pumping water. A machine that exploits wave power is a wave energy converter (WEC). Waves are generated primarily by w ...

technology developer, based in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. They are developing a hinged-raft attenuator wave energy converter (WEC) at various scales for different markets. Mocean received funding through the

Wave Energy Scotland Wave Energy Scotland (WES) is a technology development body set up by the Scottish Government to facilitate the development of wave energy in Scotland. It was set up in 2015 and is a subsidiary of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) based in I ...

Novel Wave Energy Convertor (NWEC) calls to develop a series of small-scale prototypes, the largest device called Blue X had a rated power output of 10 kW and was tested at EMEC in 2021. This device was subsequently tested off the coast of Orkney in the 'Renewables for Subsea Power' (RSP) project. The company is developing the next iteration Blue Horizon 250 WEC through the EuropeWave R&D programme.

Device concept

Mocean is developing a floating hinged-raft WEC, which comprises two sections that can rotate around a central nacelle which contains a power take-off generator. As waves pass the device it flexes, with the middle moving up or down relative to the ends, and this motion is harvested to generate electricity. Unlike some other wave energy devices, the Mocean WEC is 'self-referenced', meaning it does not rely on a reaction again the mooring to generate power. This allows a more conventional mooring system, and for the WEC to be deployed in deep waters. The device has a unique geometry that is designed to improve performance and also survivability by passing through large waves. The two sections are able to rotate freely with large hinge rotations, increasing survivability. The company uses software to explore various geometries, searching for optimal new shapes for the device allowing it to generate more power. The fore and aft sections are different to each in size and shape but both have sloping ends, this geometry is dissimilar to previous hinged raft concepts. The Mocean WEC uses a lightweight modular generator developed by CGEN Engineering and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. The modular design means individual modules within the can be bypassed if a fault occurs and individually replaced using smaller equipment, rather than needing a full generator overhaul or replacement. The floating device also has small solar panels mounted on it to increase the amount of power generated.

History

Mocean Energy was founded in Edinburgh in 2015 by Dr. Cameron McNatt and Dr. Chris Retzler; both of whom have a PhD from the

. Prior to working at Mocean, Retzler was a founding member and principal scientist at

Pelamis Wave Power Pelamis Wave Power designed and manufactured the Pelamis Wave Energy Converter – a technology that uses the motion of ocean surface waves to create electricity. The company was established in 1998 and had offices and fabrication facilities in ...

until that company went into administration in November 2014.

Wave Energy Scotland NWEC programme

The Mocean concept was initially developed through the

Novel Wave Energy Convertor (NWEC) programme, stages 1 to 3. This was a competitive staged development process with stage-gate assessments, funded through pre-commercial procurement. Mocean was one of eight concepts selected for NWEC Stage 1. They performed numerical modelling and optimisation, tank testing at

FloWaveTT The FloWave TT ocean energy research facility is designed to test physical scale models of marine renewable energy devices, in a combined wave and current environment. The facility is located at The University of Edinburgh, King's Buildings campu ...

using both 1:50 and 1:20 scale models, plus concept engineering and cost modelling. In April 2017, Mocean was one of five companies successful in progressing to NWEC Stage 2, with a further £730k in funding. NWEC Stage 3 saw Mocean test a 28 m long, 38 tonne Blue X device rated at 10 kW in the EMEC Scapa Flow scale test site for five months from June 2021, gaining valuable operational experience. The device operated at sea for 154 days, with steady output around 5 kW and instantaneous peaks of up to 30 kW. The Blue X was fabricated by AJS Production in

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath () is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 1890. According to a 20 ...

, before being shipped by road and freight ferry to Aberdeen then Orkney. It was originally planned to test the Blue X at the EMEC Billia Croo grid-connected test site, however this did not happen due to the RSP project.

Renewables for subsea power

In 2022, Mocean announced they had secured £730k of equity funding to re-use their Blue X prototype in a project aimed at helping decarbonise the oil & gas industry by providing power to

autonomous underwater vehicles In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be defi ...

(AUV) and other subsea infrastructure. Project partner Verlume supplied a Halo battery that powered an AUV from Transmark Subsea. The battery was charged via an umbilical cable by the Mocean Blue X WEC. The project was initially proposed to be four months, however this was extended, and in March 2024 the project was concluded following a 12-month sea deployment. Mocean released video footage in October 2023 of the device operating during

Storm Babet Storm Babet (known as Storm Viktor in Germany) was an intense extratropical cyclone which affected large parts of northern and western Europe. The second named storm of the 2023–24 European windstorm season, Babet was named by the UK's Met Of ...

in conditions with 6–7m

significant wave height In physical oceanography, the significant wave height (SWH, HTSGW or ''H''s) is defined traditionally as the mean ''wave height'' (trough (physics), trough to crest (physics), crest) of the highest third of the ocean surface wave, waves (''H''1/ ...

. The project gained support from several major oil companies, including

Baker Hughes Baker Hughes Company is an American global energy technology company co-headquartered in Houston, Texas and London, UK. As one of the world's largest oil field services, industrial and energy technology companies, it provides products and serv ...

, PTTEP, Serica Energy, Harbour Energy, and more recently

TotalEnergies TotalEnergies SE is a French multinational integrated energy and petroleum company founded in 1924 and is one of the seven supermajor oil companies. Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas explorati ...

and Shell Technology. It was also supported by the Net Zero Technology Centre.

EuropeWave

Mocean is developing the next generation 250 kW Blue Horizon WEC through the EuropeWave programme, a successor to the

Novel Wave Energy Convertor programme they successfully completed in 2021. The Blue Horizon will produce about 25 times the power of the Blue X, from a device about 2.5 times as long. In 2022, Mocean announced they would be testing 1:50 and 1:25 scale

3D-printed 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is the Manufacturing, construction of a three-dimensional object from a computer-aided design, CAD model or a digital 3D modeling, 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material i ...

prototypes of the Blue Horizon in the FloWave test facility as part of EuropeWave Stage 1. The company was one of five successful in progressing to Stage 2 of the EuropeWave programme in September 2022, to progress the

front-end engineering design Front-end loading (FEL), also referred to as Front-End Engineering Design (FEED), Front End Planning (FEP), pre-project planning (PPP), and early project planning, is the process for conceptual development of projects in processing industries such ...

of the device, ready for real sea testing in Stage 3. Mocean was awarded €3.7m (£3.2m) in September 2023 to build and test a 250 kW prototype as part of EuropeWave Stage 3. It is planned to test the device at the grid connected EMEC Billia Croo test site in 2025/2026, for a full year at sea. In November 2023, the company raised £2.2 million in new equity to develop wave energy technology. In October 2024, Mocean Energy partnered with Proserv to pursue development of renewable power solutions for subsea control systems.

References

External links

Mocean Energy
website {{Scottish energy Wave energy converters Renewable energy in Scotland Companies based in Edinburgh Wave power