The EuropeWave project is inviting wave energy developers to apply for funding via its innovative pre-commercial procurement (PCP) programme. The five-year collaborative programme has opened its competitive call for tenders, which will see several wave energy projects selected for the first stage of ‘concept development’.
The call will be open until 1 October 2021. A free-of-charge webinar will be held on 13 July, to provide potential applicants with full details of the call requirements, eligibility conditions and evaluation criteria. An online brokerage tool is also available until 20 July, to facilitate consortia building.
The three-stage process will award R&D service contracts to companies or consortia who are involved in the development of wave energy converters (WECs) and their components. After each stage is completed, the best of the competing solutions will be selected from within the group to progress to the following phase.
Concepts will be assessed according to strict technical and economic performance metrics, and the best performers will be demonstrated in Basque and Scottish open waters at the end of the programme. The programme will focus on the design, development, and demonstration of cost-effective wave energy converter (WEC) systems for electrical power production that can survive in the harsh and unpredictable ocean environment.
Tim Hurst of Wave Energy Scotland (WES), the organisation who first pioneered the PCP approach for wave energy, said: “Today is an important step for the wave energy sector. EuropeWave is designed to pick out the technological frontrunners and propel them – and the sector as a whole - towards commercialisation. We are excited to take this highly successful procurement model and scale it up via a transnational project across Europe.”
The EuropeWave PCP programme is based on similar programmes implemented by Wave Energy Scotland. The approach fosters greater openness, collaboration and sharing of risk between the public sector and technology developers through three key elements: a PCP funding model; structured innovation – a stage-gated industrial development process; and, internationally agreed performance standards and metrics.
EuropeWave is a partnership between Wave Energy Scotland, the Basque Energy Agency and Ocean Energy Europe. The project will provide almost €20 million to procure the most promising wave energy technologies from across Europe and beyond. Its PCP model provides a structured approach, fostering greater openness, collaboration and sharing of risk between the public sector and technology developers.
More information about the tender and a link to the applicant portal can be found on the EuropeWave website: www.europewave.eu.