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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SEA-TITAN (SEA-TITAN: Surging Energy Absorption Through Increasing Thrust And efficieNcy)

Teaser

Summary

The SEA-TITAN project aims at making a step change in the wave energy sector by designing, building, testing and validating a crosscutting and innovative Direct Drive Power Take-Off (PTO) solution to be used with multiple types of wave energy converter. The design will be based on the existing Wedge Global W200 PTO prototype and will focus on augmenting its specific force density and efficiency to levels which can significantly increase the energy capture in many types of Wave Energy Converters. These enhancements will also solve one of the key issues with WEC PTO systems, namely achieving sufficiently high peak force to limit hitting end-stops during large waves whilst maintaining high efficiency and low cost for the average wave case.
The performance and reliability demanded by wave energy systems exceeds the normal capabilities of commercial, off the shelf components commonly used in other industries. In the few cases where they are suitable, the costs often prove prohibitive. In addition, the lack of predominant PTO technology is causing a barrier to establishing a dedicated supply chain.

Currently each original equipment manufacturer system has different requirements, and pursuing the development of bespoke components not only limits the utility of the end product but also multiplies the development costs.
The objective of SEA TITAN proposal is to break this practice and to develop an optimized crosscutting power takeoff based on the existing switched reluctance linear generator from Wedge Global with application to multiple systems through collaboration with multiple wave energy developers and an industrial partner with a strong track record on technology. In addition this proposal aims to offer the developed technology open source to promote update and accelerate innovation.

The overall objective of the SEA-TITAN project is to make a step change in the wave energy sector by designing, building, testing and validating an innovative second generation Direct Drive Linear Electric Generator Power Take-Off solution: an Azimuthal Multitranslator Linear Switched Reluctance Machine (AMSRM). This development is based on a new configuration and geometry of a first generation Multitranslator Linear Switched Reluctance Machine developed by some of the proponents some years ago. The development aims at achieving high continuous and peak force densities and also high efficiencies with application to multiple wave energy conversion technologies through collaboration with different wave energy developers and industrial partners with strong track record on technology.

A high peak force for short intervals is critical to the overall PTO functions and in particular to end-stop control, whilst higher overall force density is essential to allow WECs to take advantage of advanced control strategies and to maximize energy capture from large sea-states in a wider range of wave periods. Nevertheless high force values with poor efficiencies are useless, since most of the extra captured energy would be lost in the PTO.
A given Wave Energy Converter (WEC) has a theoretical limit of energy extraction capability, which depends on the control strategy, the wave parameters, the available force, etc. A useful indicator that will be explained later in section 1.3 is the Integrated Power Capture Ratio (IPCR), which reflects the relative energy that can be captured with a WEC including a real PTO compared to a WEC including an ideal PTO with no force limit and 100% efficiency. As it will be shown later, IPCR is very sensitive to the PTO force and will be considered as one key indicator to define the project goals. This solution will also contribute to reduce significantly the Levelized Cost-of-Energy (LCOE) of any WEC based on the proposed PTO system. Also Capital Expenditure (CapEx) can be reduced, at the time the overall system efficiency (Float-to-Wire Efficiency (FtWE)) can be augmented. The term FtWE is defined as the ratio between the mechanical

Work performed

Sea Titan project has been in development for 20 months since its inception on April 1, 2018. All the participants have carried out in an efficient way the works described in the DoA. Some tasks have been subjected to changes in the execution procedures due to external agents to the project, but the difficulties have been or are being corrected without affecting the final outcomes of the project. The deliverables have been sent and accepted in a timely manner with some punctual exception that was adequately corrected without affecting the development of the project.
During this project it is expected to manufacture a PTO prototype for laboratory testing purposes, while the prototype is not a reality yet, the models (POM tool and electrical model) and detailed designs (3D model and 2D drawings) are a positive result from this first 18 months of project, Sea Titan project is now in the process of selecting the best value for money in terms of manufacturing subcontractor and process.
Other relevant achievements of the project so far is the publication and management of the webpage: seatitan.eu and social media (linkedin, twitter and facebook), participation in EWTEC 2019 with three publications and one side event (workshop), contact with relevant stakeholder of the energy sector willing to take part in the external industrial exploitation board (EIEB) and the patent application has been already published at national level (Spain).

Final results

SEA-TITAN will develop a new crosscutting PTO solution, based on the concept of an azimuthal multitranslator switched reluctance, which is a simple, able to provide a high force value, compatible with a good number of WEC technologies, and scalable in terms of power and cost effective.

Today, according to SET PLAN and Ocean Energy Europe, 45 % of wave energy companies and 50 % of tidal energy companies are from Europe. 66% of tidal wave patents and 44% of wave patents globally are held by European companies. They are in prime position to capture a global market estimated to be worth â‚¬53bn annually in 2050. The following table presents the contribution of SEA-TITAN project to the Expected Impacts addressed in the topic LCE 07-2017 of the Energy Work Programme.

IMPACT 1. REDUCE THE TECHNOLOGICAL RISKS FOR THE NEXT DEVELOPMENT STAGES
IMPACT 2. SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED TECHNOLOGY PERFORMANCE
IMPACT 3. REDUCING LIFE-CYCLE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
IMPACT 4. NURTURING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDUSTRIAL CAPACITY TO PRODUCE COMPONENTS AND SYSTEMS AND OPENING OF NEW OPPORTUNITIES
IMPACT 5. CONTRIBUTING TO THE STRENGTHENING THE EUROPEAN INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY BASE, THEREBY CREATING GROWTH AND JOBS IN EUROPE
IMPACT 6. REDUCING RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES INSTALLATION TIME AND COST AND/OR OPERATIONAL COSTS, HENCE EASING THE DEPLOYMENT OF RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES WITHIN THE ENERGY MIX
IMPACT 7. INCREASING THE RELIABILITY AND LIFETIME WHILE DECREASING OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE COSTS, HENCE CREATING NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
IMPACT 8. CONTRIBUTING TO SOLVING THE GLOBAL CLIMATE AND ENERGY CHALLENGES