Design and execution of research and development

Tender description

Wave Energy Scotland (WES) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Highland and Islands Enterprise and is taking an innovative approach to supporting the commercialisation of the wave energy sector until the technical and commercial risks are low enough for the private investment to re-enter the sector. This call is for feasibility studies on Quick Connection Systems (QCS). The overall objective of the QCS programme is to reduce the duration, cost and risk of offshore operations for early stage wave energy converters. This call focusses on the technology and operations used to make the connection between a wave energy device and its moorings and/or electrical system. Successful projects will undertake a feasibility study on the proposed QCS in Stage 1, followed by the design and analysis of this concept in Stage 2, and build and test in Stage 3. Note, applications are limited to Stage 1 at this time. Successful projects will later have the opportunity to progress through competitive Stage Gates to Stage 2 and 3 of the programme. WES can offer up to 100 % of the project costs to a maximum of 70 000 GBP for Stage 1 projects via a contract for research and development services. These projects will be 3-month duration and WES expects to award up to 7 contracts for Stage 1.