Sian Crampsie
Tidal energy company Nova Innovation has successfully completed a project to manufacture its market-ready direct-drive tidal turbine.
The company says that the D2T2 turbine will reduce the cost of tidal energy by 30 per cent and is “set to revolutionise the tidal industry”. The first unit will be deployed at Nova’s tidal array in Scotland, and the company has also sealed a deal to export 15 units to an unnamed customer in Canada.
Nova Innovation secured €2.25 million of funding from the European Commission’s SME Instrument in 2016 to develop the D2T2 model. The unit’s design is based on existing turbines that have been operating in Shetland for the last four years, but the company has “significantly” improved design and efficiency by reducing the number of moving parts.
The new 100 kW design has undergone extensive testing, initially at the OREC onshore national test centre in Blyth, and later in the ocean. It has also been verified by third party industry experts, Nova says.
“We are delighted that our new turbine is now successfully complete and ready to be deployed in commercial projects around the world,” said Simon Forrest, Nova CEO. “The EIC’s programme has turbo-charged the commercialisation of Nova, helping to drive Europe’s Green Deal and blue economy. The ingenuity and clever simplicity of our product has helped drive down costs, making tidal energy increasingly bankable.”
