SWEDEN
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
Swedish companies, universities and institutes were involved with several research and development projects during 2018. Below are just a few examples.
WECANet
WECANet is the first pan-European Network on an interdisciplinary marine wave energy approach, with networking tools and activities. It is EU funded and will last for four years. It will provide a platform and forum for efficient cross-border networking, exchange of information and identification of strategic research needed to deal with challenges and knowledge gaps for promoting deployment, commercialization and advancement of the wave energy sector. Uppsala University participates.
The Ocean Energy Scale-up Alliance (OESA)
OESA is a 3-year project funded by the Interreg North Sea Region Programme. The aim is to support the accelerated deployment of large-scale pilots from ocean energy technology companies in the North Sea Region. Uppsala University will contribute with expertise in wave and marine current energy areas.
UMACK
The UMACK project started in 2018 and will address ocean energy affordability, survivability, reliability and installation through the demonstration of a generic anchor-foundation-mooring-connectivity system which aims to reduce capital and installation costs by up to 50%. The project is a collaboration between CorPower, Sustainable Marine Energy, TTI Marine Renewables, European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) and Edinburgh University. The project has received support under the framework of the OCEANERA-NET COFUND project, with funding provided by the Swedish Energy Agency and Scottish Enterprise and co-funding by the European Union´s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.
Direct drive generator development
The project seeks to demonstrate that direct drive systems for wave power can be as efficient as large hydropower generators (98%), also in partial load and speed, and can be in the same size and initial cost range as existing gear box solutions. In the project, a specialized linear transverse flux generator is being designed and built in the lab. The project takes place at KTH Royal Institute of Technology and has received funding from the Swedish Energy Agency.
R&D of dynamic low voltage cables between the buoy and floating hub in a marine energy system
The project is a collaboration between developers, research organisations and supplier, involving Chalmers department of Mechanics and Maritime Sciences, CorPower Ocean AB, Waves4Power, nkt Cables AB, Minesto and RISE Research Institutes of Sweden AB.
The project started in 2015 and ended in 2018, with funding from the Swedish Energy Agency.
The aim of the project was to develop a dynamic low voltage cable between buoy and floating hub. Tests were made in the laboratory and in the ocean at Runde. A mathematical model for power cables with fixings was developed to simulate the cable movements and to calculate the fatigue failure of the electrical conductor. New patent and knowledge derived from cables and accessories have been found.
