Ocean Energy could meet 10% of the EU power demand by 2050. However, technologies to harness ocean energy are not yet mature enough for widespread use, with performance, reliability and survivability challenges, leading to high costs of energy in comparison with other energy sources. It is clear from the more mature energy technologies that such challenges are typical early on in an industry, but can be overcome with the correct tools and processes to support market growth and technology innovation.
DTOceanPlus will accelerate the development of the ocean energy sector by developing and demonstrating a suite of 2nd generation advanced design tools for the selection, development and deployment of ocean energy systems. The scope of the DTOceanPlus tools will cover the two most developed sources of ocean energy, namely tidal stream and wave energy. The DTOceanPlus suite of tools will fill a significant gap in the market by providing a single, integrated, open-source solution that supports the entire innovation and development process for ocean energy sub-systems, devices and arrays, aligning innovation and development processes with those used in mature engineering sectors. It has been designed with sustainable, long-term innovation in mind and is intended to support innovators as the sector grows and long after the conclusion of the project.
This suite of design tools will reduce the technical and financial risks of devices and arrays to achieve the deployment of cost-competitive wave and tidal arrays. This will be focused on rapidly reducing the Levelised Cost of Energy (LCoE) offered which will contribute towards the European Union’s strategic energy goals. DTOceanPlus will achieve this by facilitating improvement of the reliability, performance and survivability of ocean energy systems and analysing the impact of design on energy yield, O&M and the environment, making the sector more attractive for private investment.
The DTOceanPlus suite of tools are made freely available as open-source to the entire ocean energy sector, thus ensuring the maximum impact and usability of the tools. It ensures that small and large organisations alike are able to take advantage of the tools, regardless of their financial standing. By producing standardised data models of ocean energy systems and by interfacing with industry standard software packages the result will be streamlined and impactful. Open access to these tools will also allow them to be utilised for education, training and knowledge exchange. All of the DTOceanPlus design tools have been demonstrated (TRL6) based on lessons learnt from the world’s first generation of ocean energy arrays, including those developed by DTOceanPlus project partners under the H2020 projects.
With applicability at regional, national, European and international levels, the DTOceanPlus suite of tools will be designed for technology developers, project developers, public funding bodies and private investors. The outputs of DTOceanPlus will also be relevant and of great value to a wider group of key stakeholders including policy makers, regulators, standards bodies, insurance providers and the supply chain. This will contribute to the strengthening of the European industrial technology base, thereby increasing job growth and European competitiveness.
