On Monday 1st July the Directors of Bombora Wave Power welcomed Sue Price, Head of Programme Management Division, Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO) to Bombora’s Pembroke Dock offices to review the latest progress on the 1.5MW mWave™ trial being conducted at Pembroke Dock.
Bombora is mid-way through the project to design, build, deploy and test and validate a 1.5MW mWave power converter off the coast of Pembrokeshire. The mWave will be fully submerged on the sea floor and is non-disruptive to ocean users and marine life while generating electricity from the wave motion.
Bombora’s Pembrokeshire mWave project, supported by a European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) grant via the Welsh Government, has generated a significant boost to the local area by creating both direct and indirect employment, and through engagement with local supporting industries.
The visit included time spent with Mainstay Marine Solutions to observe progress on the construction of the mWave main structure, seeing Bombora’s purpose-built test tank at the Port of Pembroke to view membrane testing and meeting some of the twenty-three staff now employed at the company’s headquarters.
After the visit, Richard Beresford, Chairman of Bombora said;
“The decision to establish our European headquarters in Pembroke Dock was underpinned by the Welsh Government’s support for the marine renewable energy sector. This combined with access to skilled people, great port facilities and an experienced supply chain make Pembrokeshire an ideal location for emerging companies like Bombora.
We made the right decision to set up in Wales and were very pleased Sue Price could meet with us and explain the Welsh Government’s vision for the marine energy sector. We are confident that with this support and local partnerships we can achieve great success here in Wales.”
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.
Bombora is currently completing a 1.5MW mWave product validation project in Pembrokeshire, Wales with the support of the Welsh Government and a European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) grant. Bombora is simultaneously developing a global pipeline of commercial wave farm projects.
Background: Richard Beresford – Chairman, Bart van de Ven – Non-Executive Director, Allyn Wasley – Chief Financial Officer, Erin Croot – Non-Executive Director, Dave Rigg – Chief Operating Officer.