Eight new projects have been launched at various UK universities to develop and test cutting-edge new wave energy technologies to help the UK reach its net-zero goals.
Wave energy may be an innovative new form of green electricity generation. Credit: Kevin Dooley / Flickr
The projects - headed by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) - will build on the UK's leading role in marine wave energy to overcome challenges to devices that capture the energy generated by waves and convert it into a renewable source of electricity.
The projects are based at universities across the country, including the University of Manchester, the University of Plymouth, Lancaster University and Newcastle University.
The wider deployment of Wave Energy Converters (WECs) is hampered by challenges such as their ability to survive in extreme weather conditions and their efficiency.
The projects will adopt innovative new approached to overcoming these challenges.
One such inspiration comes from the fins of marine animals to design flexible WEVs through ocean-based trials and develop the models needed to assess how they cope with conditions such as storm waves.
The scheme is supported via a £7.5 million (€8.6 million) investment by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of the UKRI.
The UK's energy minister and MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed, Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: “Our coastline and the power of the seas around us offers huge potential for clean renewable energy that can help us meet commitments to end our contribution to climate change by 2050.
"There are certainly unique challenges in harnessing the power of the marine environment and it is exciting to see how these projects can help us make the most of our natural resources in a cleaner greener future.”
EPSRC Executive Chair, Professor Dame Lynn Gladden, said: “As a source of renewable power, marine wave energy would complement existing wind and solar technologies and help to provide a balanced supply.
“By overcoming challenges to effective marine wave energy technologies, the projects will help to unlock a valuable source of renewable energy and help the UK to achieve its net-zero goal.”
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