The future of clean renewable energies is ‘catching a wave’ into aquaculture, leveraging the limitless motion of ocean currents to generate electrical power. The primary focus is to decarbonise the resource-intensive offshore operations of the aquaculture industry, which traditionally have relied upon diesel generators for power.
Advanced Composite Structures Australia (ACS Australia) is a key participant of the Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre (Blue Economy CRC), bringing critical composites engineering design and manufacturing capabilities to major renewable energy projects in the aquaculture space.
The most recent projects to be announced involve the design and manufacture of renewable energy devices taking advantage of advanced composites technologies. In partnership with the Blue Economy CRC, headquartered in Launceston, Tasmania, Carnegie Clean Energy and other industry experts, ACS Australia is progressing the development of two major projects: the MoorPower Scaled Demonstrator project; and a Mooring Tensioner for wave energy converters.
MoorPower Scaled Demonstrator project
Global aquaculture is moving operations further offshore, presenting a challenge to access clean renewable and reliable offshore energy. Moored feeding barge facilities rely on diesel fuel generators for power out at sea, leading to high operating costs and carbon emissions. The MoorPower project aims to solve this problem by leveraging the surrounding environment and convert wave motion into electricity – an untapped clean energy source flowing around moored barges.
The $3.4m MoorPower scaled demonstrator project was officially launched in October 2021 and runs over two years. The project is funded with support from the Blue Economy CRC and in collaboration with partners Carnegie Clean Energy, Huon Aquaculture, Tassal Group, DNV, University of Tasmania, Climate KIC, Australian Ocean Energy Group, AMC Search, University of Queensland and ACS Australia. Carnegie Clean Energy will operate the MoorPower technology demonstrator at its research facility in North Fremantle, Western Australia.
The MoorPower project concept was developed by Carnegie Clean Energy with the goal of decarbonising the energy needs of offshore operations, particularly in the aquaculture industry. MoorPower is similar in concept to Carnegie’s ‘CETO’ technology, but in this case energy is harvested from the wave-induced movement of a moored barge rather than a submerged buoy. The movement of the barge drives a power take-off (PTO) system that converts the wave motion into electrical energy.
On course to reduce the carbon emissions of offshore aquaculture operations, this project aims to address two major challenges:
- Wave energy is an untapped renewable energy resource, but its levelised cost of energy (LCOE) must continue to reduce to trigger significant uptake. Ocean Energy Europe (OEE) forecasts a significant opportunity with a €653bn market potential by 2050. Fostering development of wave energy technologies facilitates the Blue Economy CRC vision of supporting aquaculture with offshore renewable energy and supports the commercialisation of wave energy by validating new markets and advancing technology.
- Aquaculture is moving further offshore in response to growing demand, deepening environmental concerns, conflict with key stakeholders, and access to suitable sites. Other offshore industries are also developing in a diverse sustainable blue economy. However, significant challenges to overcome include the availability, safety, reliability and environmental aspects of energy supply.
The project is currently in the development phase at ACS Australia with prototyping of composite components and manufacturing processes being developed. With more to come over the coming months of the project, ACS Australia looks forward to sharing more via its website and social media channels.
Mooring tensioner for wave energy converters
Preceding the MoorPower project, this $1.6m Wave Energy Converter project was launched in 2020 and targets the efficient and cost-effective conversion of wave energy into electrical energy. ACS Australia is designing and manufacturing key composite components that will demonstrate the novel energy storage element, the Mooring Tensioner, in turn enabling the use of efficient rotary electrical generators for Wave Energy Converters (WECs).
ACS Australia is working on the Mooring Tensioner project in collaboration with Blue Economy CRC partners Carnegie Clean Energy, University of Queensland and Climate-KIC. ACS Australia is delivering high-performance, lightweight and durable fibre reinforced composite components related to the Power Take-off unit, enabling easy integration into space-constrained WECs while meeting the durability and environmental requirements. The project aims to deliver efficiency advantages, significantly enhancing WEC technologies, and contributing towards the supply of low-cost energy to onshore grids, offshore platforms, and aquaculture operations.
“We are inspired by the opportunity to work with Carnegie Clean Energy and the Blue Economy CRC project partners to develop advanced engineered composite mooring tensioners for Wave Energy Converters, enabling the evolution of renewable energy systems and reducing carbon emissions in aquaculture,” says Paul Falzon, General Manager at ACS Australia.
ACS Australia’s talented team of engineers and technicians are continuously being challenged by a diverse range of projects where advanced composite materials are being applied. The team’s passion for advancing the technology of composites into sustainable renewable energy systems can be seen in their product development work with the Blue Economy CRC partners, among others.