The UK-headquartered firm is breaking into ocean energy after helping Swedish developer CorPower optimise key components in its Wave Energy Converters (WECs).
CorPower’s high-efficiency WECs benefit from thermochemical treatment to protect against the harshest marine conditions.
In particular, mechanical components are being developed using Corr-I-Dur. This thermochemical treatment is said to simultaneously improve corrosion resistance and wear properties by generating an iron nitride-oxide compound layer.
CorPower Ocean Senior Procurement and Quality Engineer Thomas Lindahl said: “Durability and robustness are of paramount importance in the wave energy sector, and effective protection of devices in the hostile ocean environment has always presented a major challenge to our industry. From a commercial perspective, solid proof of the long-term resilience of our WECs makes them infinitely more valuable. We believe this collaboration will play a crucial role protecting our WECs during our next phase of testing in the Atlantic Ocean, and for the years to come.”
Bodycote president for Northern and Eastern Europe, Paul Clough, said: “By using Corr-I-Dur, CorPower was able to design mechanical components such as pistons, guides and linkages, that are suitable for the world’s harshest environments for metal.”
CorPower Ocean is now ramping up operations for its flagship HiWave-5 demonstration project in northern Portugal to propel its wave technology to a bankable product offering by 2024 – proving the survivability, performance and economics of a grid-connected array of WECs. The €16m project includes investment to build a wave energy hub in the Port of Viana do Castelo, involving R&D, manufacturing and servicing facilities for the long-term development of supply and service capacity for commercial wave energy farms.
