A Scottish tidal energy company set up six years ago has secured EU funding to demonstrate a direct drive tidal turbine – a technology that, when commercialised, could revolutionise the future of the tidal energy sector.
The Edinburgh-based Nova Innovation – which in earlier this year deployed of the world’s first fully-operational, grid-connected offshore tidal array in Shetland – has landed €2.25 million of grant funding of through the EU Commission’s Horizon 2020’s SME Instrument programme.
The Direct Drive Tidal Turbine project is designed to produce a commercial demonstrator of Nova’s innovative direct drive tidal turbine technology, which is a possible milestone in the long-term commercialisation of tidal energy as a source of predicable renewable power.
Simon Forrest, Managing Director, Nova Innovation said: “We are extremely excited to be embarking on this exciting phase in the commercialisation of our direct drive tidal turbine. This will be a major breakthrough for the sector globally – driving down the cost of tidal energy by improving the reliability, efficiency and maintainability of tidal turbines.”
“We are extremely grateful to the team at the European Commission for their confidence in our technology and continued support following the successful delivery of Phase 1 of the project. We are looking forward to bringing this innovation to a commercial reality so that it can be exported throughout the world.”
Bernd Reichert, Head of the Horizon 2020 SME programme, commented: “We are looking for an elite of highly innovative small and medium-sized businesses that can transform markets and create rapid growth.
“Nova Innovation is a great example of how SMEs can disrupt the market with an innovative idea and the right technology and we are proud to count Nova Innovation in our programme.
The Direct Drive Tidal Turbine project, with a total expenditure of €3.2 million, will be carried out in Scotland, widely regarded as the world centre of excellence for tidal energy development, and will run for 30 months.
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