Bombora is pleased to announce the award of a key contract for the fabrication of the cell modules for the mWave energy demonstration project to Pembrokeshire fabricator Altrad Services. The 1.5MW demonstration device will be one of the most powerful wave energy converters built.
Sam Leighton, Managing Director, commented: “We are very pleased to be able to award this key contract to a company with a solid base in Pembrokeshire. The majority of our work to date has been awarded to local companies and there are more opportunities for the local supply chain to benefit.”
Tony Jester, Maintenance, Modifications and Overhauls Managing Director of Altrad Services said “We’ve long supported industry in the Pembroke region, and to now be selected to work in the burgeoning renewables sector is great news. Each steel cell module will weigh 30 tonnes, and our skilled Pembroke fabrication teams are looking forward to working on this ambitious project.”
In 2018 Bombora secured a £10.3 million European Union funds through the Welsh Government to support its £17 million Pembrokeshire mWave Demonstration Project.
The mWave rests on the sea floor like a fully submerged reef making it invisible while extracting maximum energy. “Bombora” is an indigenous Australian term for an area of large sea waves passing over a shallow area such as a reef, or sand bank that is located some distance from the shoreline. In slang it is also called a bommie.
The mWave is non-disruptive to ocean users and marine life and can survive storm conditions. Its flexible rubber membrane design, which is part of the cell module structure, pumps air through a turbine to generate electricity. The mWave is able to operate 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year in any conditions where there is movement in the sea’s surface, including low swells.
One of four cell modules being fabricated by Altrad Services
Bombora has developed a membrane style wave energy converter called an ‘mWave™’. Located 10 meters beneath the ocean’s surface, similar to a fully submerged reef, it is invisible from the shoreline. As ocean waves pass over the mWave, the membranes deflect pumping air through a turbine to generate electricity. Electricity is directly transferred to shore via a submerged cable.
The mWave is unique among wave energy converters as it simultaneously addresses the ‘cost of energy’ and ‘ocean wave survivability’ challenges.
About Altrad Services
Altrad Services is an international leader in the provision of critical industrial services principally to the energy and natural resources sectors. They employ around 7,000 people working on over 150 sites in the UK.
Our multi-disciplinary service offering includes specialist fabrications services, access systems, insulation, specialist coatings, passive fire protection, refractory linings, environmental services, oil and gas storage tanks and heat exchanger replacement and refurbishment.