BAE signs partnership agreement
26 Jul 10
BAE Systems has joined forces with us as part of a project worth
almost £1 million to deliver cheaper, more reliable sources of
clean energy for homes across the UK and beyond.
The Technology Strategy Board has awarded a £450,000 grant for
the project, which Aquamarine Power and BAE Systems have
match-funded. This funding will support a 30 month research,
development and demonstration project to enable large-scale
commercial production of our Oyster wave energy converter.
Driving innovation
Under our partnership, engineers at BAE Systems who are usually
involved in the design, repair and maintenance of complex naval
systems, will work with us to develop an intelligent diagnostic
system and remote ballasting mechanism for our Oyster wave energy
technology. These innovations will drive down maintenance
costs and help to maximise energy production, paving the way for
our ground-breaking technology to be rolled out on a commercial
scale to establish Oyster wave farms around the world.
Speaking about our partnership, Kevin McLeod, Engineering
Director at BAE Systems' Surface Ships division, said:
"This is a great opportunity for us to apply skills developed in
naval design and the management of large complex maritime
engineering programmes to support the emerging marine energy
industry.
"In working with Aquamarine Power as a partner, we are helping
to pioneer commercial clean energy solutions that will help the UK
meet its ambitious climate change targets."
"The Oyster system works well," said our CEO, Martin McAdam.
"Our next step is to drive down the cost of electricity generated
from wave power through improvements in Oyster's reliability and
reduced maintenance costs.
Engineering excellence
"BAE Systems is a fantastic company with extensive experience in
marine systems performance modelling and analysis. Our companies
are very different in size, but we share a passion for engineering
excellence and a belief in the global potential of wave energy. We
are grateful to the Technology Strategy Board for providing the
grant funding which has enabled this collaboration to take
place."
Iain Gray, Chief Executive of the Technology Strategy Board,
said:
"By 2050 we are going to have very different energy needs than
we have today and we will be getting our energy from different
sources. The UK is well placed to exploit wave and tidal
stream energy resources with all of the coast line that we have,
and it is expected this kind of technology will be an important
part of the renewable energy mix needed in the future.
"We still need to prove which technological solutions will most
successfully harness marine energy and we need to reduce the cost
of the energy produced to make the technology competitive with
other renewable energy solutions. So there are a range of
technological challenges to address."