NORWAY

The research cluster in Trondheim, comprising NTNU and SINTEF/MARINTEK, is active in ocean energy research. Some of the activities are: technology screening and verification, control systems, mooring, marine structures, safety, optimal design of devices and load modelling. MARINTEK’s model tank is also used to test ocean energy devices. SINTEF/NTNU is a member of the EU MARINET research network.

Stadt Towing Tank (STT) was founded in 2007 to deliver test and research services to the marine industry. The main market for STT has been ship designers in the maritime cluster of north-western Norway, but projects related to renewable energy have also been tested. Among the renewable energy projects tested has been wave energy converters, wind turbine installation concepts, wind turbine foundation solutions and wind turbine service vessels.

Tide Tec AS, a Norway-based hydropower technology company, have displayed and tested the new and innovative turbine turning mechanism prototype in Svelvik, Norway, between August and November 2016. The prototype is intended to simulate a large-scale barrage or lagoon application for a low head hydro turbine. The turret has been tested for 6 weeks in a tidal stream environment. “The seawater tests give us proof of concept and show that a turning classic low head hydro turbine can be the most efficient tidal lagoon or barrage turbine”, says Joachim N. Amland, CTO at Tide Tec.

From late August, the prototype has been submerged for a test period of 6 weeks. “The testing show the robustness of the turning mechanism and the ability to keep the intended areas dry. In addition, we tested that the turret proves as a robust housing for a low head hydro turbine. The next steps will be to integrate a suited turbine into our turret, and upscale the technology”, says Joachim N. Amland.