A new wave energy converter, developed by Inverness-based AWS Ocean Energy, has arrived in Orkney ahead of its imminent deployment at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC).

The 16kW Archimedes Waveswing will be transported to Copland’s Dock in Stromness where it will be readied for deployment at EMEC’s Scapa Flow test site in February. The 50t device travelled to Orkney following a period of dry testing by the AWS engineering team at Muir of Ord.

When deployed, the Archimedes Waveswing is moored to the seabed and sits below the surface of the sea, reacting to changes in pressure caused by passing waves. It is designed to react to long ocean swell waves as well as short, wind-driven seas, for high energy capture.

The £3.4 million prototype project has been funded by Wave Energy Scotland (WES) as part of the Novel Wave Energy Converter development programme. The demonstration at EMEC is also supported by the Interreg North-West Europe’s Ocean DEMO project.

Simon Grey, chief executive of AWS Ocean Energy said “The exciting thing about Waveswing is that it’s genuinely scalable and practical to integrate into a multi-absorber platform. Achieving power outputs comparable with offshore wind units is critical to driving down the cost of energy and ensuring that operation and maintenance is practicable in the hostile marine environment.” The current Waveswing design focusses on remote power applications such as subsea oilfield assets but it can be scaled to over 500 kW and AWS expects to develop 10MW platforms hosting up to 20 units.