A simpler form of wave power
Trident Energy's wave power rig before its deployment this summer.
Trident Energy is a marine renewables energy company that has developed a unique and low cost system for converting sea wave energy directly into electricity.
The patented technology has been developed over the last five years by an extensive R&D team working alongside the University of Cambridge. It uses what the company calls the Direct Energy Conversion Method (DECM). Most importantly for Trident’s objective of producing an innovative, low cost and scalable solution that has minimal environmental impact, Trident’s DECM unit has only one moving part and is claimed to be the simplest marine renewable energy generation system that exists.
It works by placing floats in the sea which are used to drive linear generators, resulting in the immediate generation of electricity. No hydraulic equipment or air compression is required. This simplicity leads to unique competitive advantages, as Trident Energy believes its equipment will be significantly cheaper to construct, install and maintain than alternative offerings.
The test rig will generate about 20kW from eight full scale linear generators. All operational data will be validated by the New and Renewable Energy Centre (NaREC) at Blyth UK. In the long term, the company aims to market its technology worldwide and become a major supplier in the marine renewable energy sector.
Trident is fully funded to complete its current project. Following a successful three month offshore trial period, the company will be looking to fund the next phase of its development via the UK Government’s Marine Renewables Deployment Fund for support through this pre-commercial phase. .
This next set of developments will be based on increasing the rig size and number of generators installed, delivering multi megawatt generation. In parallel with this initiative, the company is looking to continue its research and development programme so that future systems can be deployed on a larger scale.
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