Tanks tests of floating hybrid energy platform completed
Illustration of the InSPIRE platform (Source: Bombora)
Bombora Wave Power, part of the EuropeWave Programme, has completed tank tests of a floating foundation for offshore wind and wave electricity supply. The foundation formed part of an adapted semisubmersible InSPIRE platform, developed in partnership with TechnipFMC, and was tested at the FloWave facility at the University of Edinburgh.
The InSPIRE Project combines Bombora’s patented multi-megawatt mWaveTM technology, which generates electricity from waves, with TechnipFMC’s engineering expertise in offshore projects. The pre-FEED phase of the InSPIRE Project, which involved the integration of a 4-MW mWave system and a 10-MW wind turbine in a single semi-submersible foundation, was completed earlier this year.
Peter Arnold, Bombora head of Loads and Modelling, commented: “This represents another significant milestone for the InSPIRE Project which began back in 2021, when we initially launched a detailed investigation into the opportunity of combining mWave onto floating offshore wind platforms. Two key activities were subsequently identified to progress the project towards the detailed platform design phase. “Firstly, the tank test evaluation and secondly, the large-scale performance testing of the mWave technology in our flagship Pembrokeshire Demonstration Project, due for deployment in the next few months.”
Completion of the tank tests now provides the data necessary for detailed design of the combined wind and wave platform due to start early in 2023.
