United Kingdom Centre for Marine Energy Research
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Edinburgh
Department Name: Sch of Engineering
Abstract
The UK Centre for Marine Energy Research (UKCMER) is being funded as the third phase of Research Councils UK's flagship SuperGen marine programme. UKCMER aims to:1. conduct world-class fundamental and applied research that assists the marine energy sector in the UK to reliably and dependably accelerate deployment rates and ensure sustained growth in generating capacity to meet the 2020 targets,2. expand and more effectively operate an inclusive network of academic researchers, industry partners and international collaborators, and3. continue to provide the highest quality of doctoral training and knowledge transfer in partnership with industry to build intellectual and human capacity for the marine energy sector.The Centre will achieve these aims through three closely integrated activities: Firstly the operation of a network of excellence which draws together marine energy researchers and developers from UK academia, industry, and the wider international community; Secondly, undertaking a focussed and directed programme of industry driven fundamental research to address issues affecting the push to meet the ambitious deployment target of installing 2GW of generating capacity by 2020; and, finally, the provision of a training programme to develop the knowledge and understanding of both the next next and present generations of marine energy professionals. The five year research programme will be guided by the marine energy industry, through a formally constituted Research Advisory Forum, to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of the sector. Based on this advice, a series of thematic workshops is being organised to shape future research programmes and build teams of researchers and developers who are able to seek funding from other organisations, such as the technology strategy board (TSB), energy technologies institute (ETI), and European Commission (EC). The research output from the Centre and updates from project and technology developers will be presented at the Annual Assembly, held in November each year. The bi-annual, week long, residential short courses, which form part of the doctoral training programme, are open to participants from industry as well as PhD and EngD students and offer continuing professional development (CPD) credits. In addition to the PhD students funded by EPSRC as part of this project, the Centre is engaging with the KTP management centres to fund additional EngD studentships through knowledge transfer partnership with industry.
Planned Impact
Academic Impact: The academic marine energy research community will benefit from the proposed activity through: direct expansion of understanding within the designated priority themes; enhancement of opportunities for collaboration between specialist academic groups within the network; communication of this new understanding within the consortium and associated network; enhancement of opportunities for researcher-developer feedback, through the operation of the broader R&D community of which the proposed consortium and network are a part; enhancement of direct communication between the research, development, legislative and policy stakeholders to ensure that ongoing and future research is appropriately targeted for immediate and future requirements of the marine energy sector; support of the next generation of academic specialists in the field of marine energy through ongoing career development of post doctoral research assistant within the consortium; development of the next generation of professional researchers, academic and industrial, through support and guidance of doctoral students within the consortium and affiliate members. Economic and Societal Impact: The marine energy sector has often been characterised by lost opportunities to benefit from appropriate communication of available fundamental knowledge and experience. Just as academics will benefit from communication of developer experience of design and deployment, the developers will benefit from ready access through the consortium and its associated network to the very latest enhancements of understanding. In addition they will benefit from being able to access the researcher experience, which has been enhanced by the direct research and enhanced communication allowed by the communication within the consortium. The consortium will generate a considerable cohort of PhD graduates, many of whom will enter employment within the broader marine renewable energy sector, but outside of the academic community, where their expertise and skills will enhance the knowledge base. Experience within Supergen Marine I and II has suggested that the enhancement of the direct human resource available to the sector has had direct benefit. The developer community will also benefit from the single-point-of contact represented by the PI in his role at Champion . The UK has been a pioneer in the development of marine energy since the 1970s. Since then, the international marine community has drawn heavily upon UK experience and understanding. Activity within the consortium will further this interchange, with prospective benefits for UK export (IP and hardware) opportunities. An enhanced marine renewable industry will benefit the UK itself in at least two direct manners: employment in a new energy industry will have a direct benefit to the economy; significant proportions of marine capacity in the electricity generation portfolio will displace fossil fuel consumption with benefit to the environment and to energy security. At present, the marine sector is too small to significantly impact on either of these benefits. At present, the technology is seen as too immature and expensive to offer sufficiently attractive investment, which would drive future large scale expansion, although support mechanisms such as ROCS and the Marine Renewable Deployment Fund are intended to enhance the commercial attractiveness. Research and communication of the results of the research associated with this proposal, will continue to remove barriers, both real and perceived, to cost reduction. In addition, enhanced understanding of environmental impacts will reduce uncertainties which would otherwise result in over cautious planning constraints.
Organisations
Publications
Harding S
(2012)
Generating controllable velocity fluctuations using twin oscillating hydrofoils
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Spinneken J
(2014)
Force-controlled absorption in a fully-nonlinear numerical wave tank
in Journal of Computational Physics
Bouferrouk A
(2016)
Field measurements of surface waves using a 5-beam ADCP
in Ocean Engineering
Stallard T
(2015)
Experimental study of the mean wake of a tidal stream rotor in a shallow turbulent flow
in Journal of Fluids and Structures
Fernandez-Rodriguez E
(2014)
Experimental study of extreme thrust on a tidal stream rotor due to turbulent flow and with opposing waves
in Journal of Fluids and Structures
Weller S
(2013)
Experimental measurements of the complex motion of a suspended axisymmetric floating body in regular and near-focused waves
in Applied Ocean Research
Fairley I
(2013)
Evaluation of tidal stream resource in a potential array area via direct measurements
in Renewable Energy
Holmes, B., Prado, M., McCombes, T. Johnstone C., Kofoed, J.-P., Neumann, F., Retzler, C., Bittencourt-Ferreira, C
(2011)
EquiMar: Sea Trial Manual
Barbour E
(2011)
Energy storage in association with tidal current generation systems
in Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part A: Journal of Power and Energy
Nambiar A
(2015)
Effects of hydrodynamic interactions and control within a point absorber array on electrical output
in International Journal of Marine Energy
Voke M
(2013)
Economic evaluation of the recreational value of the coastal environment in a marine renewables deployment area
in Ocean & Coastal Management
Harding S
(2012)
Directionality in prospective Northern UK tidal current energy deployment sites
in Renewable Energy
Pascal R
(2011)
Directional spectrum methods for deterministic waves
in Ocean Engineering
Easton M
(2013)
Current Patterns in the Inner Sound (Pentland Firth) from Underway ADCP Data*
in Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology
Jones D
(2012)
Computational modelling of coastal flooding caused by combined surge overflow and wave overtopping on embankments
in Journal of Flood Risk Management
Stallard T
(2012)
Comprehensive Renewable Energy
Thies P
(2015)
Component reliability test approaches for marine renewable energy
in Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part O: Journal of Risk and Reliability
Gebreslassie M
(2012)
CFD Simulations for Sensitivity Analysis of Different Parameters to the Wake Characteristics of Tidal Turbine
in Open Journal of Fluid Dynamics
Gebreslassie,Mulualem G.
(2012)
CFD simulations for investigating the wake states of a new class of tidal turbine
in Renewable Energy & Power Quality Journal (RE&PQJ)
Buckland H
(2013)
Cavitation inception and simulation in blade element momentum theory for modelling tidal stream turbines
in Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part A: Journal of Power and Energy
Stansby P
(2013)
Breaking wave loads on monopiles for offshore wind turbines and estimation of extreme overturning moment
in IET Renewable Power Generation
Harnois V
(2015)
Assessment of entanglement risk to marine megafauna due to offshore renewable energy mooring systems
in International Journal of Marine Energy
Thies P
(2011)
Assessing mechanical loading regimes and fatigue life of marine power cables in marine energy applications
in Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part O: Journal of Risk and Reliability
Horrillo-Caraballo J.M.
(2011)
Application of a Statistical Method to investigate patterns of beach evolution in the vicinity of a seawall
in Journal of Coastal Research
Crozier R
(2013)
Analysis, design and testing of a novel direct-drive wave energy converter system
in IET Renewable Power Generation
Karunarathna H
(2011)
Analysis of key parameters in a diffusion type beach profile evolution model
in Continental Shelf Research
Lawrence J
(2013)
An Overview of the U.K. Marine Energy Sector
in Proceedings of the IEEE
Nambiar, A.J..
(2014)
An offshore network layout and technology design tool
Reeve D
(2011)
An investigation of the impacts of climate change on wave energy generation: The Wave Hub, Cornwall, UK
in Renewable Energy
Antonutti R
(2014)
An investigation of the effects of wind-induced inclination on floating wind turbine dynamics: heave plate excursion
in Ocean Engineering
Karunarathna H
(2012)
An analysis of the cross-shore beach morphodynamics of a sandy and a composite gravel beach
in Marine Geology
Thies P
(2012)
Addressing failure rate uncertainties of marine energy converters
in Renewable Energy
Batten WM
(2013)
Accuracy of the actuator disc-RANS approach for predicting the performance and wake of tidal turbines.
in Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences
Jeffrey H
(2013)
Accelerating the development of marine energy: Exploring the prospects, benefits and challenges
in Technological Forecasting and Social Change
Thies P
(2016)
Accelerated reliability testing of articulated cable bend restrictor for offshore wind applications
in International Journal of Marine Energy
Herduin M
(2016)
Abrasion process between a fibre mooring line and a corroded steel element during the transit and commissioning of a marine renewable energy device
in Engineering Failure Analysis
Johnstone C
(2013)
A techno-economic analysis of tidal energy technology
in Renewable Energy
McNaughton J
(2013)
A simple sliding-mesh interface procedure and its application to the CFD simulation of a tidal-stream turbine
in International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids
Folley M
(2012)
A Review of Numerical Modelling of Wave Energy Converter Arrays
Garcia-Teruel A
(2021)
A review of geometry optimisation of wave energy converters
in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
Lv X
(2015)
A Preconditioned Implicit Free-Surface Capture Scheme for Large Density Ratio on Tetrahedral Grids
in Communications in Computational Physics
Thies P
(2014)
A novel mooring tether for peak load mitigation: Initial performance and service simulation testing
in International Journal of Marine Energy
Gordelier T
(2015)
A Novel Mooring Tether for Highly-Dynamic Offshore Applications; Mitigating Peak and Fatigue Loads via Selectable Axial Stiffness
in Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
McNatt J
(2015)
A novel method for deriving the diffraction transfer matrix and its application to multi-body interactions in water waves
in Ocean Engineering
Forehand D
(2016)
A Fully Coupled Wave-to-Wire Model of an Array of Wave Energy Converters
in IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy
Hashemi M
(2014)
A coupled tide-wave model for the NW European shelf seas
in Geophysical & Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics
Malki R
(2013)
A coupled blade element momentum - Computational fluid dynamics model for evaluating tidal stream turbine performance
in Applied Mathematical Modelling
Ma Z
(2014)
A compressible multiphase flow model for violent aerated wave impact problems
in Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences
Description | This project is now concluded. It explored some of the grand challenges facing the marine energy sector, including: upscaling to arrays and farms; extreme loadings and survival, novel systems, components and devices; environmental interaction and fatigue and reliability. The outputs, findings, impact, collaborations and industry and policy interaction were reported in the Phase 3 Monograph, available to download from the website. |
Exploitation Route | The work of UKCMER is influencing technology, policy, standards, regulation and practice across the tidal and wave energy sector. |
Sectors | Energy,Environment |
URL | https://www.supergen-marine.org.uk/ |
Description | The findings of this collaborative project influenced technology, policy, standards, regulation and practice in the marine energy sector. |
First Year Of Impact | 2012 |
Sector | Energy |
Impact Types | Economic |