Mocean Energy’s Blue X Wave Device and Verlume’s Halo Collaboration

The Wave-Powered Subsea Project, part of the Renewables for Subsea Power (RSP) initiative, has successfully completed a 12-month offshore test campaign, marking a significant milestone in the development of green technologies for subsea power and communications.

Mocean Energy’s Blue X wave energy converter, in collaboration with Verlume’s Halo underwater battery storage system, has been retrieved to shore after over a year of testing at sea. Orkney-based marine services provider Leask Marine played a crucial role in bringing the RSP technology back onshore.

The project, with a total investment of $2.5 million (£2 million), showcased how the combination of wave energy and battery storage can provide reliable and continuous low carbon power to subsea assets. This innovative approach offers a cost-effective alternative to traditional umbilical cables, which are carbon-intensive and have long lead times for procurement and installation.

Participants in the RSP project, including energy majors TotalEnergies and Shell Technology, joined forces with project leads Mocean Energy and Verlume, as well as other industry players like PTTEP, Serica Energy, and Baker Hughes. The collaboration aims to demonstrate the potential of green technologies in delivering sustainable power solutions for subsea operations.

Mocean Energy expressed their excitement for the project’s future, stating on social media, “We are exploring the next steps both here in the UK and overseas to further demonstrate how this combination of ocean technologies can enable reliable low carbon power and communications to subsea architecture in a live environment.” The successful completion of the offshore test campaign has provided valuable data and increased confidence in the system’s capabilities, paving the way for future advancements in the field of renewable energy.