Inverness Campus based 4c Engineering links up with Irish and Basque counterparts for pioneering wave power project
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Inverness technology specialist 4c Engineering is joining forces with with Basque and Irish innovators to develop a pioneering wave power project.
Based at Solasta House on Inverness Campus. 4c Engineering has partnered with Ireland's Waveram Limited, the project lead contractor, and Basque R&D experts Tecnalia, to develop the wave energy convertor Waveram project after securing one of seven slots in the EuropeWave programme.
The multinational agreement comes a year on from the announcement of the EuropeWave project, a five-year collaborative research and development programme between Wave Energy Scotland (WES) and the Basque Energy Agency (EVE). Match-funded by the European Commission via its Horizon2020 programme, this will channel almost €20 million to procure the most promising wave energy technology solutions from developers across Europe and beyond.
4c Engineering has already collaborated with Basque partners Ditrel and Tecnalia on the WES funded Quick Connection System programme. It has also worked with Irish company Seapower in two stages of WES’s novel wave energy converter programme.
4c Engineering responded to the call for applications to the EuropeWave tendering process by reaching out to previous collaborator Tecnalia, who in turn made the introduction to William Dick of Waveram. The three were then joined by Madrid-based Core Marine to form a consortium to present a project to the EuropeWave programme.
Following its successful bid, the consortium has been awarded 291,000 Euros in funding for the seven month first phase in the development of Waveram’s wave energy convertor technology. This will involve design, physical prototyping, numerical simulation, and the deployment of a scale model in Edinburgh's FloWave. If successful, this will lead to further development, culminating in open-sea deployment in the final phase.
4c Engineering director Peter MacDonald said: “The barriers to collaboration are higher now than they even have been for 4c Engineering, with the double hit of Brexit and Covid threatening our ability to collaborate with European partners, which makes the importance of this joint project even more significant.
"It’s a clear demonstration that an engineering company based in the Highlands can still work with our valued partners from across Europe, and it’s particularly satisfying to be reinforcing 4c Engineering’s existing links with Ireland and the Basque Region”
William Dick of Waveram added: “This EuropeWave project will provide a most welcome challenge to press ahead with a breakthrough technology, now patented worldwide. Our best thanks to our excellent partners in Inverness, Bilbao and Madrid who have made this opportunity a reality”
Stewart Nicol, chief executive of Inverness Chamber of Commerce, highlighted 4c Engineering as another example of the innovation shown in the Highlands.
He commented: "I’m delighted that Inverness-based 4c Engineering have been successful with this innovative marine technology research bid.
"In doing so they have demonstrated the leading-edge capability that exists within Highland business and the capacity they have to partner globally with other world leaders in this highly technological market-place. 4c Engineering’s success, along with recent announcements relating to establishing offshore wind tower manufacturing absolutely demonstrates the expertise and ambition the Highlands have across the whole renewable energy sector.’”
Scotland's cabinet secretary for net zero, energy and transport, Michael Matheson, said: “Scotland is ideally-placed to be at the forefront of the global market for marine energy. The Scottish Government has long-supported the sector – not least through Wave Energy Scotland, which continues to help the sector grow and develop through its world-renowned funding programme.
“The EuropeWave project demonstrates Scotland’s desire to collaborate with European partners to drive forward our shared aims and objectives towards green energy, and I look forward to seeing this project support and further develop this technology on our journey to a net-zero economy.”
