Bombora’s mWave wave energy converter ‘cell module’ structure has been transported from the fabrication workshop of Altrad Services to the assembly workshop at Mainstay Marine Solutions.
The cell module is a part of a new marine energy solution being built and tested in Wales.
The cell module transported on Sunday is the first of four 15-meter-long, structures that form Bombora’s 75-meter-long, subsea mWave. The cell module is a key component part of Bombora’s 1.5MW mWave Pembrokeshire Demonstration Project, which will be installed off the coast of Pembrokeshire in the first half of 2021.
Each cell module will be covered in a robust rubber membrane. As waves pass over mWave, under-water pressure increases, causing the rubber membranes to compress in sequence, forcing air inside the membranes along a duct and through a turbine spinning a generator converting this rotation into electricity.
The number of mWave cell module’s can be increased to suit the site location and generate more energy. Bombora’s first grid connected project will have 20 cell modules and generate 3.0MW.
Bombora moved operations from Australia to Pembroke Dock in 2017 to be at the heart of Wales’ marine energy industry. The company is now at the assembly phase of the 1.5MW mWave Pembrokeshire Project supported by a £10.3 million European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) grant through Welsh Government.
Bombora plan to export the knowledge and know-how arising from the project at Pembroke Dock to support marine energy projects around the world. Wales has wave and tidal stream export market potential of £76 billion.
