With assistance from Invest Northern Ireland, Belfast company Pure Marine is targeting global commercial success with its innovative marine energy generator.
Pure Marine is developing the DUO Wave Energy Convertor (WEC), a technologically advanced system that generates electricity from waves. The device is currently undergoing final design modelling and prototype testing.
Backed by an offer of over £50,000 from Invest NI, the company is undertaking crucial market research and business development activities, including visits by company representatives to key future growth markets around the UK, USA and Europe.
This follows research and development support of over £150,000 offered to Pure Marine earlier this year by the Carbon Trust, funded locally by Invest NI with part finance from the European Regional Development Fund.
Emphasising the significant commercial opportunities arising within renewables, Invest NI’s Director of Technology and Process Development, Olive Hill, says: “As conventional fuel sources become more scarce, it is becoming increasingly clear that renewable energy in all its forms will play a major role in the future of power generation in countries right across the world.
“The UK, thanks to its physical geography, is a global leader in the development of marine energy technology and accounts for around half of global capital expenditure in the sector. Pure Marine is on the leading edge of research in the area, with a low cost, high output system that is sure to attract interest in markets such as the UK, the Republic of Ireland and further afield.”
Ms Hill adds: “To help even more local companies take advantage of the many and varied commercial opportunities that are arising in renewable energy and environmental technologies, Invest NI is holding the NI Energy & Environment Conference on 14 October in Belfast. Attendance is free and participating companies will have the chance to hear from some of the world’s leading experts in the various industry sectors.”
Dr Paul Brewster, founder and Technical Director of Pure Marine, says: “With the ability to produce electricity from both the vertical and horizontal movement of waves, our DUO WEC design has a crucial advantage over other wave energy systems. Each unit will be able to produce around 2MW of electricity and the system is scalable into large arrays capable of delivering output comparable to that of existing power stations.
“The support of Invest NI has been crucial in helping us bring our ideas from the drawing board to the testing and prototyping phase. In conjunction with this we have been able to establish valuable contacts with potential clients in the marketplace, laying the groundwork for quick success when our DUO wave energy convertor reaches the market.”