OES Annual Report 2012 - Ocean Energy Systems

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04 / COUNTRY REPORTS
In order to facilitate field testing and verification of research results, two research sites are operated by
Uppsala University; the Lysekil wave power research site that has been in operation since 2006 and the
Söderfors marine currents research site. At the Lysekil wave power research site wave climate can be
monitored and environmental impact studies performed and the site has permits for up to 10 WECs that
are operated for research purposes. The site is currently not grid connected. The Söderfors marine currents
research site is located in Dalälven river between two hydropower plants. The research site is currently
being developed to enable in-river testing of a vertical axis and direct drive generator device for low speed
marine currents.
Chalmers University of Technology
At Chalmers University of Technology ocean energy research projects on mooring design, power
transmission and mooring fatigue started up in 2011. The research is being carried out at the departments
of Shipping and Marine Technology and Energy and Environment in collaboration with the Ocean Energy
Centre (OEC), which was also initiated in 2011.
OEC is an innovation platform for collaboration, cooperation and communication among ocean energy
stakeholders hosted by the Department of Shipping and Marine Technology at Chalmers University of
Technology. OEC is a partnership between the Swedish development companies Minesto, Ocean Harvesting
Technologies, Vigor Wave Energy and Waves4Power, the technical research institutes SP and SSPA, Chalmers
University of Technology and the Region of Västra Götaland, which is the main financial partner.
Government Funded R&D
Several research and development projects with public funding have been running during 2012:
CFE II – Center for Renewable Electric Energy Conversion II
CFE II is an extensive research project at the Center for Renewable Electric Energy Conversion at Uppsala
University, in which a total of 14 graduate students carry out research related to wave power, vertical axis
wind power and marine currents. CFE II is funded by the Swedish Energy Agency, the Swedish Governmental
Agency for Innovation Systems, Uppsala University and the utilities Statkraft and Vattenfall.
Buoy-to-grid
Buoy-to-grid is an applied development project, financed by the EU European Regional Development Fund
and the Region of Västra Götaland. It aims to support the development of common technical solutions for
power, signal and communication transmission, from the power take-off at the offshore installation to
the main onshore power grid. The project is led by the technical research institute SP and carried-out in
cooperation with the OEC partner organizations.
Mooring design and energy capture
The research project develops numerical models that can analyse how the mooring set-up alters the
energy capture of wave energy devices. It is financed by the Region of Västra Götaland and carried-out by
researchers at the Department of Shipping and Marine Technology at Chalmers University of Technology,
in collaboration with the OEC development companies.
Power transmission
The research project focuses on the power generation and control systems in wave energy devices and aims
at finding optimal designs. It is financed by the Region of Västra Götaland and carried-out by researchers at
the Division of Electric Power Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology, in collaboration with the
OEC development companies.
Durability analysis of cables and moorings used in ocean energy systems
The research project focuses on fatigue challenges in electrical cables and moorings related to wave energy
applications. It is financed by the Swedish Energy Agency and carried out by researchers at the Department
of Shipping and Marine Technology at Chalmers University of Technology, in collaboration with the OEC
development companies.