Tidal Energy

Current2Current Ltd. [website], located in England, and launched in 2007 to design and build a tidal device to harness the energy of water movements as currents flow in and out of tidal areas.

A simple construction, the omni-directional converter works on the principle of redirecting the flow vertically through a shrouded turbine. With commercialisation just around the corner, Current2Current intends to capture a significant share of the market with its novel use of innovative technology.

The turbine will become a subsea electrical power socket, providing constant power in remote subsea locations, servicing a range of power markets as follows;

Micro power - 100-500W - Applications for this include:

• Sensors and monitoring instruments
• Mid power - 10-100kW - Applications for this include:
• Island community electricity supply - may be installed in small arrays of multiple turbines
• Macro scale power - 300kW-1MW - Applications for this are:
• Tidal power projects yielding multi-megawatts - installed in arrays of multiple turbines

Current2Current Ltd was formed in 2007. With commercialisation just around the corner, Current2Current intends to capture a significant share of the market with its novel use of innovative technology.

Currently based at Crichiebank Business Centre, the team are working on delivering an offshore test program, which will see over 800 tests being performed on the existing prototype.

The tidal energy converter represents a step change in tidal power development.

The C2C energy converter has several distinct advantages over existing competition such as:

• Having no external moving parts
• Being omni directional and able to exploit flow from any direction
• Being capable of generating at slower flow speedsBeing modular therefore reducing manufacturing and operation costs
• Being non obtrusive above the waterline, meaning marine traffic is not affected
• Creating a net down force - reducing the need for extensive foundations
• Being plug and play, with the aim of being installed and retrieved within two hours
• Being capable of being overtrawlable
• The engine works by diverting the tidal current up through a flow path, between an inner cone and the outer structure. This flow is then directed through a ducted turbine before exhausting vertically out of the top of the cone.
• The product continues to be developed following a recognised development process originally used by NASA and now widely used within the subsea oil and gas industry.