CorPower Ocean has partnered with subsea composite specialist Diab for the construction of its first commercial scale Wave Energy Converter (WEC).
The ocean energy developer is currently fabricating its next generation C4 WEC, with dual build-out operations in Sweden and Portugal.
Part of the flagship HiWave-5 Project, the WEC will ultimately join a four-system wave energy array, located off the coast of Aguçadoura in Portugal, forming one of the world’s first grid-connected wave farms.
Following several months of process characterization on ¼ scale models, CorPower Ocean is now nearing completion of the first commercial scale hull at its Portuguese base in Viana do Castelo.
The site is also demonstrating the firm’s ‘mobile factory’ concept designed to enable rapid roll-out of WEC hulls in port facilities near wave energy sites across the globe.
A key element to the hull’s sandwich structure involves the core material which provides strength and stiffness. Produced by Swedish firm Diab, the unique Divinycell H grade material brings a raft of benefits including high strength, durability and impact resistance combined with light weight and buoyancy performance properties.
“Diab’s technology is an ideal match for our composite hull structure, meeting all requirements with relevant certifications,” said CorPower Portugal Managing Director Miguel Silva. “The Divinycell H sandwich composite is particularly well suited to WEC devices being designed specifically to withstand major fatigue, slamming and impact loads. Other important features include excellent adhesion strength and chemical resistance, with low water absorption and strong thermal insulation.”
Diab has been supporting the development of subsea applications for more than 50-years including high demand structural and buoyancy solutions for civil and defence sectors.
During its latest partnership with CorPower Ocean, Diab provided structural engineering support, including analysis of loads and stresses exposed to the hull, to ensure the correct selection of core materials and laminates for the composite structure.
Diab Segment Manager Lars-Magnus Efraimsson said Divinycell H has a proven track record in virtually every application area where sandwich composites are employed, including the marine, land transportation, wind energy, civil engineering and general industrial markets.
“We are pleased to be expanding our portfolio in the subsea sector working with a fellow Swedish outfit and one of the leading wave energy developers,” he said. “It’s always a pleasure to work with firms like CorPower Ocean which share our passion for innovation, as we continually explore new ways to improve our offering and make our clients’ products stronger, lighter and smarter.”
About Diab
Diab is a world leader in sandwich composite solutions that make customers’ products stronger, lighter and smarter. Diab provides a range of core materials, cost-effective kits, finishing options and in-depth knowledge on composites. Diab has been at the leading edge of composite core material development for over 70 years, supplying a wide range of markets including marine, wind energy, transport, aerospace and industry.
Diab has 8 strategically located manufacturing sites and 14 sales companies around the world to support its global customer base. The company’s philosophy is to be a partner with its customers, providing them with high quality materials and a wide range of support services that include process development, structural design and training. Diab is owned by Ratos AB and is a participant of UN Global Compact.
About CorPower Ocean
CorPower Ocean brings a new class of high efficiency Wave Energy Converters (WECs) enabling robust and cost-effective harvesting of electricity from ocean waves. The design principle is inspired by the pumping principles of the human heart and offers five times more energy per ton of device compared to previously known technologies, allowing a large amount of energy to be harvested using a small and low-cost device. The CorPower WEC’s unique ability to become transparent to incoming waves provides survivability for the WEC in storm conditions.
CorPower’s is headquartered in Sweden, with offices in Portugal, Norway and Scotland. The company has received broad backing across Europe, with funders including EIT InnoEnergy, the European Commission, the Swedish Energy Agency, AICEP Global (Norte2020), Wave Energy Scotland, Midroc New Technology, ALMI Invest Greentech, SEB Greentech VC and additional private investors.
CorPower’s HiWave-5 Project
CorPower’s HiWave-5 Project continues in northern Portugal following a decade of product development and three decades of research on wave hydrodynamics. The Swedish-headquartered developer is currently fabricating its first commercial scale C4 WEC – a 9m diameter device with a weight of 60 tonnes and 300kW power rating. Dry testing in Sweden was initiated the first part of 2021, in preparation for ocean installation at the Aguçadoura site in Portugal in Q2 2022. This will be followed by three additional CorPower C5 machines in 2023 to form a pilot array and secure type certification.
