Our R&D team's technical and research expertise allows us to
continually refine and improve the design of our Oyster wave energy
device. Our team is also developing innovative new
technologies to increase Aquamarine Power's intellectual property
portfolio.
Our R&D team's research is primarily focused on increasing
our understanding of how our Oyster wave energy device interacts
with waves. The team achieves this through tank testing and
computational modelling which continually improves our hydrodynamic
knowledge. This allows us to accurately predict how Oyster
will perform in the coastal environment. We can then optimise
Oyster's efficiency, reliability and cost-effectiveness.
Physical model testing
Our research engineers have conducted extensive physical model
testing of Oyster at 40th and 25th scale in the world-class tank
testing facilities at Queen's University, Belfast. Data from
these experiments feeds into computational models that enable us to
continually improve Oyster's efficiency and effectiveness in the
water. In addition to testing at scale, we equip our full-scale
prototype Oyster devices with multiple sensors and monitoring
equipment which allows us to gather actual performance data.
In addition to our research and development team at Queen's
University, Belfast, we have established a world-leading wave
resource assessment team in Edinburgh. This capability enhances
Aquamarine Power's ability to understand the world wave resource
and guides our development team in the selection of the optimum
wave farm sites.
The R&D team
Our R&D team is led by Chief Technical Officer Dr Paddy
O'Kane who has over eight years experience in renewables. Paddy was
previously Head of Engineering and Wind Resource Assessment at SSE
Renewables. The team has primary degrees in physics,
mathematics and engineering and PhDs in marine energy, non-linear
wave theory, fluid dynamics, electrical engineering and
astrophysics.
Industry-leading partnership
Our in-house research and development team works alongside the
specialist marine energy research team at Queen's University,
Belfast, with whom we have a long-standing research
partnership. The team at Belfast is led by one of our
technical advisors Trevor Whittaker, Professor of Coastal
Engineering. Trevor is a recognised leader in the field of wave
energy. Wave energy pioneers Professor Stephen Salter and
Allan Thomson are also technical advisors to our team.