DUNDEE is set to win a boost to its credentials as a centre of renewables activity as a yard in the city prepares to play a key role in a pioneering wave energy project.
Wave power specialist Mocean Energy expects to use Texo Engineering and Fabrication’s Dundee facility to produce two generators that will be deployed off Scotland as part of a £2 million demonstration project.
The wave energy converters are expected to be used to produce carbon-free electricity which could power homes onshore or equipment deployed offshore by firms working in industries such as oil and gas.
Work on the generators could help safeguard jobs at Texo E&F’s Dundee facility.
Mocean’s managing director Cameron McNatt said the decision to use Texo E&F on the Renewables for Subsea Power project highlighted the economic value that the emerging wave energy industry is generating for Scotland and the UK.
“From the beginning, our technology has been made in Scotland, and through selecting TEXO E&F we are ensuring our supply chain remains home grown,” added Mr McNatt.
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He said Texo E&F had valuable experience of manufacturing complex technology for use offshore.
Mocean has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Texo E&F covering work on the Blue Star and Blue Horizon generators.
The latter is the more powerful generator and is expected to produce grid scale output.
Mocean completed successful sea trials of its Blue X generator technology off Orkney in 2021.
The business was co-founded by Mr McNatt and Chris Retzler in 2015. Mr McNatt completed a PhD in the movement of wave fields at the University of Edinburgh after working as a naval architect. Mr Retzler was a founder of the Pelamis Wave Power business, which went into administration in 2014.
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Mocean has won backing to commercialise its technology from the Equity Gap business angels syndicate and the University of Edinburgh’s Old College Capital operation.
Texo E&F belongs to a group that was founded by oil services sector veterans in 2018 and offers a range of services for firms operating offshore.
Mocean is working on the Renewables for Subsea Power project with Aberdeen-based Verlume which specialises in energy management and storage systems.
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The project is supported by North Sea oil and gas heavyweights Serica Energy and Harbour Energy and the UK Government-funded Net Zero Technology Centre.
Under the North Sea Transition Deal announced by the UK Government in 2021, the oil and gas industry aims to reduce emissions associated with offshore production by 50 per cent by 2030, compared with a 2018 baseline.
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