Technology
At Mocean Energy our expert team combines scientific principles with real-world experience to deliver new technologies that can harness the power of waves and accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon world.
We are developing two wave energy technologies: (1) the Blue Star, a device that will power a range of subsea equipment, inspection and maintenance systems; and (2) the Blue Horizon, a larger machine designed to generate grid-scale electricity.
Both technologies are based on the same concept – a hinged raft with a unique geometry that improves performance by up to 300 percent compared to traditional hinged rafts and increases survivability by diving through the largest waves.
With funding support from Wave Energy Scotland, Mocean constructed our prototype – the Blue X – for testing our hinged-raft design in real sea conditions.
Blue Star
Our Blue Star wave energy converter will provide reliable, renewable power for a range of subsea applications – from control systems, to ROVs, to fully autonomous underwater vehicles. Its compact design fits in 40 foot shipping containers, and uses magnetic-geared power to charge onboard batteries, providing continual power.
In spring 2021, Mocean Energy entered a collaborative initiative to demonstrate how wave energy coupled with underwater energy storage can power subsea equipment. Net Zero Technology Centre provided grant funding, matched by financial and in-kind contributions from other partners, including Harbour Energy, Transmark, Serica Energy, Baker Hughes, and energy storage developers Verlume.
Blue Horizon
We are also developing a much larger hinged-raft wave energy converter – the Blue Horizon – based on the same principles as the Blue Star.
The Blue Horizon is our utility-scale machine, designed for deployment in wave farms off the coast to deliver reliable, green energy to transmission networks around the world.
We didn’t design Blue Horizon simply by making the Blue Star bigger. We captured the requirements and used our optimisation strategies to maximise power generation while minimising cost and keeping within constraints of the commercial application.
Blue X
In January 2019, Wave Energy Scotland selected Mocean’s design as one of the industry’s most promising concepts – awarding Mocean with £3.3 million.
The support from Wave Energy Scotland enabled Mocean to develop the Blue X – a prototype model for extensive testing in real sea conditions. In spring 2021, Mocean shipped the Blue X to the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, the world’s first and leading open-sea test facility for wave and tidal energy devices. Installed at EMEC’s Scapa Flow test site, the Blue X is generating power – a major Mocean milestone – as well as tremendous data on machine performance and operation seen over the summer months.