Orbital Marine Power has teamed up with Swedish engineer SKF for its power train supply on the world’s most powerful tidal turbine.
The firms have announced a contract for the supply of the fully integrated power trains on Orbital’s upcoming O2 2MW floating tidal turbine.
This will become the world’s most powerful tidal turbine when it enters operation at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney in 2020.
The landmark, multi-million pound contract brings the industrial capabilities of SKF in behind Orbital Marine’s technology. It also provides Orbital with access to the resources of one of Europe’s largest original equipment manufacturers.
SKF has an annual turnover of over £6 billion in global equipment sales and services.
The firm said this latest announcement builds on an existing agreement which sees the blade pitching hubs for the machine also being supplied by the Swedish headquartered engineering and manufacturing giant.
Orbital has been working with SKF for the supply of critical bearing and sealing components since 2011 in both its 250kW unit and the SR2000-2MW unit, which produced more than 3GWh of electricity over its initial 12-month test programme.
Talking about the relationship, Orbital Marine’s CEO, Andrew Scott, said: “At Orbital Marine we are about delivering a total, innovative solution that enables low cost tidal stream energy. Commercialising our technology will create an entirely new global market for power generation equipment and services and we are delighted to be working with SKF to unlock this.”
Michael Baumann, business development manager marine and ocean energy at SKF said: “We are a technical partner to advanced tidal turbine device developers for almost a decade now and are delighted that our long-term partnership with Orbital evolves to the next major step from providing main mechanical sub-systems to fully integrated power train solutions. We see tremendous potential for floating tidal technology due to its low installation and operating costs and are keen to create value-adding solutions for our customers.”
Orbital’s contract with SKF follows recent contract awards as part of the overall build programme for the O2; these include the O2 manufacturing contract to TEXO Group in Dundee and an anchors contract to FAUN Trackway in Anglesey.
The announcement also follows the Scottish Government’s award of a £3.4 million grant to Orbital Marine; this money is drawn from the Scottish Government’s £10m Saltire Tidal Energy Challenge Fund.
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