There is 10 GW of predictable, high value tidal stream potential in European waters, with up to 100 GW of capacity globally . It is an entirely unharnessed resource, with just 13 MW currently deployed . The future commercial rollout of tidal stream energy, in line with the EU Offshore Renewable Energy Strategy and SET Plan targets, rests on five key pillars:
1. The ability to approach cost competitiveness with other low carbon technologies through aggressive technical innovation;
2. Addressing technology and component performance uncertainties and mature asset management which impacts on the sectors ability to raise affordable finance for wide scale rollout;
3. Cost reduction through volume manufacturing and supply chain capacity;
4. A pipeline of deployment opportunities; and
5. Consenting and environmental impact uncertainties including other sea-users.
MAXBlade has been developed to significantly advance these first three pillars with a focus on the entire blades use and end-use lifecycle, control, condition monitoring and asset management.
The project aims to reduce the levelized cost of energy of Orbital’s tidal technology by 20% through a 70% increase in the rotor swept area with a reliable, cost-optimised 13m length blade. This will increase yield by a site average of 22%, reducing the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) by 13% alone. MAXBlade will also implement advanced tidal blade condition monitoring for the first time, optimised array level control and integrated digital asset maintenance management, introduce circular economy principles into the tidal blade lifecycle and advance European leadership towards tidal turbine blade delivery.
