The work packages involved in this project are outlined below.
Market Assessment
A global review of the tidal energy market identified a market potential of over 50GW for tidal stream energy. Key stakeholders including potential clients, investors, regulators, legislators, project partners and supply chain companies were consulted to identify opportunities and barriers to commercialisation. A supply chain review identified gaps in existing market capabilities and mitigation strategies were developed to address these.
Intellectual Property (IP) review
A thorough assessment of relevant prior art was conducted. This established freedom to operate and identified promising areas for patent protection. The results were incorporated into Nova Innovation’s IP strategy.
Competitor analysis
Research was conducted to identify key competitors, evaluate their current status, and assess their business strategies. A number of areas for potential pan-European collaboration were identified and are being pursued. The outputs from this work sharpened Nova Innovation’s competitive advantage.
Cost assessment
An analysis of the lifetime cost of energy of our direct drive tidal turbines was used to determine the optimum scale and price point for our tidal energy devices. The results underpinned the business case for the direct drive product by confirming the return on investment that our clients will achieve.
Risk Assessment
An assessment was conducted of the commercial, technical, business and environmental risks in the business plan. Mitigation strategies and controls were identified and incorporated into the business plan.
Business Plan
The results of the above analysis were incorporated into a robust business plan to exploit our direct drive turbine technology. Our next step in commercialising this research will be the successful delivery of our direct drive turbine demonstrator project, funded by the Scottish Government WATERS scheme. This will be followed by deployment of an array of market-changing, direct-drive turbines.
