Blue Star FEED

The project is the front-end engineering design (FEED) of Mocean Energy's Blue Star Mk2 ocean wave energy converter (WEC). FEED is an intermediate stage of engineering design, between concept development, and prototype building and testing.

Blue Star is a shipping-container sized, 15-kW, hinged raft (two hulls connected by a hinge). Wave forces and the hulls' dynamics cause a reciprocating rotation about the hinge that drives a power take-off system (PTO), converting the motion into electricity.

Blue Star will be used in the offshore energy industry to power subsea equipment, saving offshore O&G companies millions of pounds in capital and operation costs, lowering CO2 emissions and supporting the industry's transition to green energy.

The project will raise the technology readiness level from TRL 5 to TRL 6 by developing the concept into engineering design, enabling Mocean to pursue commercial relationships, raise funding for the next stage of development: the build and at-sea testing of a full prototype.

The entire Blue Star concept is innovative. The WEC has a unique, patent-pending, geometry, developed via AI-optimisation, that increases wave forces and alters dynamics so that the machine produces eight times more energy per size than the current state-of-the-art.

The project will reduce the technology risk by solving key engineering challenges through design, numerical modelling, and small-scale physical modelling. The engineering design objectives include:

* The integration of a novel PTO, comprising a ground-breaking direct-drive generator: a Vernier Hybrid Machine (VHM) from Fountain Design, optimised by Newcastle University, incorporating bespoke power electronics designed by Supply Design. These systems will ensure that Blue Star is efficient, reliable, and can survive extreme seas.
* Development of a simple, robust, and easy-to-install mooring and umbilical system with associated offshore operations supported by domain expert, InterMoor.
* An integrated system with a robust structure that floats as designed and withstands fatigue and ultimate loads experienced at sea.

The project will follow the recognised Technology Qualification process: new technologies are proven by developing requirements into a series of tests or design goals around which work is structured. A strong emphasis is placed on commercial engagement working with customers throughout the design process to incorporate their feedback into requirements.