“2024: Surfing the Tide of Transformation at the European Marine Vitality Centre”

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The aspect of waves at sea is that they do not arrive alone. They come in clusters, and their effect is dependent on your location, actions, and your level of preparedness for them. Waves are also a consequence of certain events at sea, such as a storm or the accumulated energy from weather stirring up the waters from a distance.

This also seems applicable to change. A series of alterations occurring rapidly can unexpectedly or unpreparedly throw individuals off balance. Some changes may stem from actions or decisions made far away. However, akin to waves, change can be navigated and can be exhilarating for those who are prepared.

Functioning as a catalyst for innovation and research & development, we have become proficient at responding to changes, whether they stem from political environments and policies or evolving market demands; for innovation, such changes can represent tremendous opportunities. Innovation, like surfing, is challenging yet exhilarating. The initiatives we host are pioneering pilots that often uncover unforeseen challenges and unknown facets. Addressing these with tight timelines and limited funds creates immensely valuable learning experiences and often leads to new initiatives.

EMEC has played a pivotal role in initiating the remarkable marine energy activities that have occurred in Orkney in recent years; not only paving the way for the technologies of the future but also facilitating the development of the skills and supply chains necessary for large-scale implementation.

While 2024 has witnessed a significant shift in the political landscape, it was comforting this year to have our efforts and impact acknowledged by both the outgoing and incoming governments. In May, we received a funding boost of £3 million from the UK Government to support unlocking EMEC growth opportunities to help fulfill UK net-zero objectives, and there is a strong emphasis on the necessity to decarbonize coming from the new Labour government.

Within the initial months of the new government, we welcomed the new Climate Minister, Kerry McCarthy MP to Orkney, soon followed by a fact-finding visit from officials of the Department for Net Zero and Energy Security. The fact that they came here to observe firsthand how offshore renewable technologies and local energy expertise can contribute to the Government’s clean energy mission is both refreshing and empowering.

Investment in R&D and emerging technologies will be crucial for the UK to meet its 2030 targets and achieve net-zero, and we are well-positioned to support initiatives like GB Energy and Clean Power 2030 Mission Leadership in the endeavor to advance renewable and low-carbon technologies.

As 2024 draws to a conclusion, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the progress being made and the changes we anticipate seeing in the coming years. The following summary outlines the wide array of activities we’ve been engaged in, as well as directing you to more detailed information that I hope will interest you.

Looking ahead, we understand that 2025 is set to be an active year, and I witnessed firsthand at the relaunch of the Marine Energy All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) in Westminster just how much interest there is in what EMEC is doing. I was thrilled to participate in the initial meeting which brought together MPs and industry leaders, chaired by Orkney and Shetland MP, Alistair Carmichael, to discuss realizing the UK’s marine energy potential. With clear interest at the highest level and the dedication I see daily up here at the heart of the industry, this newly forged alignment of interests is tangible and exciting.

We are ready to ride the waves of change needed, and I am thankful for all the years of preparation that colleagues have committed to get us ready for this challenge. 2025 appears to promise to be an exhilarating year… once again.

Enjoy the read and feel free to reach out.

Neil Kermode
Managing Director

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Goals and advancements

The UK possesses strong ambitions for deploying wave and tidal energy due to the advantages it can bring. The UK’s leadership in wave and tidal energy technologies provides energy security and economic benefits with over 80% UK project content valued at an estimated £41 billion GVA to the UK economy by 2050.

Our industry body, the Marine Energy Council (MEC), has clear requests of the Government to solidify the UK’s leadership in tidal stream and wave energy:

• Introduce dedicated innovation funding to capture energy security, economic, and system advantages.
• Establish 2035 deployment goals – 1 GW tidal stream deployment and 300 MW for wave energy by 2035.
• Maintain and create clear pathways to market, including revenue support, funding for early array deployment sites, and forming a strategic taskforce to explore the potential for ocean energy in the UK.

As one of the MEC’s leading partners, EMEC fully endorses these requests and integrated them into our own manifesto requests during the general election. EMEC’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Eileen Linklater, recently joined Richard Arnold from the MEC to discuss UK policy developments in marine energy for a ReEnergise podcast, hosted by Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult.

The podcast discusses one of the most promising political announcements of the year – the outcomes of Allocation Round 6 (AR6) of the UK’s Contracts for Difference renewable auction. Six projects across five sites secured contracts to deliver 28 MW of tidal stream energy, adding to the pipeline of projects set to come online over the next few years. There are now over 130 MW of tidal stream projects expected to become operational by 2029 in the UK; of that, 83 MW are planned to be deployed in Scotland.

However, to achieve this, the sector needs to get technologies into the water for longer durations of testing and demonstration now, as well as preparing sites for arrays to accelerate the transition from single prototypes to multi-device demonstrations over the coming decade.

A new report, published by EMEC in collaboration with the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, emphasizes the critical role alternative offtake routes for tidal stream energy can play in enabling the sector’s growth, particularly given current grid limitations. Funded by Crown Estate Scotland, Scottish Enterprise, and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the report explores various offtake routes including community embedded generation, energy for local small-scale industrial demands such as whisky distilleries, hydrogen applications, and the production of synthetic fuels. Key recommendations focus on strategic planning around the optimal use of resources.adjoining to sectors in need of decarbonization, reducing risk for group scale projects, and increasing thresholds for consenting requirements to better assist initiatives at various scales. These insights aim to guide future leasing design and discover pragmatic methods to address deliverability challenges.

EMEC is actively pursuing the expansion of both our grid-connected testing sites to accommodate demonstrations of multiple technologies, with ongoing efforts to enlarge the tidal site at the Fall of Warness to 50 MW and the wave energy testing site at Billia Croo as well.

Continue reading to discover the pipeline of projects gearing up to deploy at our sites.

Tidal energy – advancing to arrays

Orbital continues to operate its O2 tidal turbine at EMEC’s Fall of Warness tidal energy site, achieving a recent generation record for the highest amount of energy generated from a single six-hour tide at 8.63 MWh – sufficient power to meet the electricity needs of the average UK household for three years.

EMEC is collaborating with Orbital on a range of European-funded innovation initiatives that will lead to a significant shift in the large-scale deployment of Orbital’s technology:

• MaxBlade is examining the entire lifecycle of tidal turbine blades to deliver essential improvements in blade and rotor design, increasing blade length from 10 m to 13 m and creating the world’s longest tidal turbine blade.
• FORWARD2030 is developing a multi-vector energy system that integrates predictable floating tidal energy, wind generation, grid export, battery storage, and green hydrogen production.
• EURO-TIDES is focused on accelerating the commercial deployment of Orbital’s technology by implementing a 9.6 MW tidal turbine array at EMEC in the coming years.

Another Scottish tidal developer, Nova Innovation, has also received EU funding in collaboration to scale up the deployment of its seabed-fixed tidal turbines. The SEASTAR project aims to establish a 4 MW, 16-turbine tidal energy farm at EMEC’s Fall of Warness tidal energy site.

Magallanes is working on the design of its ATIR 2.0 tidal energy device and we are eager to assist them in demonstrating it at EMEC in the near future.

Wave energy – scaling up

In the wave energy front, Irish developer OceanEnergy has finalized a berth agreement to test its 1 MW OE35 floating wave energy converter at EMEC’s Billia Croo wave energy site. The EU Horizon Europe funded WEDUSEA project will showcase the OE35 over a two-year timeframe, with demonstrations at EMEC expected to commence in 2025/26.

Meanwhile, Edinburgh-based developer, Mocean Energy, which initially demonstrated its scaled Blue X prototype at our Scapa Flow testing site in 2021, followed by a demonstration off the east coast of Orkney in 2023/24, is preparing to deploy a 250 kW wave device at our Billia Croo wave testing site in the near future as part of a £3 million EuropeWave project.

We are also pleased to be collaborating with one of our earliest wave energy clients again – AW Energy. The recently launched ONDEP project has been awarded €19 million from the EU’s Horizon Europe funding program to deploy a 2 MW wave energy array featuring four WaveRoller wave energy converters in Portugal. AW Energy tested components for the WaveRoller device at Billia Croo in 2005.

Lifecycle assessment – from deployment to decommissioning

This summer, the former OpenHydro tidal energy platform was decommissioned and removed from EMEC’s tidal site at the Fall of Warness after 18 years in position. Installed in 2006, OpenHydro was EMEC’s first tidal client and in 2008 became the first device to generate tidal energy to the UK grid. Over the years, OpenHydro tested seven turbines, with the last one accumulating over 10,000 hours of operational time. Unfortunately, the company went into administration in 2018, and after exploring options to repurpose the remaining platform, it was ultimately decided to proceed with decommissioning. The turbine was removed in 2022, and EMEC collaborated with local marine contractors Ocean Kinetics and Green Marine, who led the marine operation to remove the platform, cutting the pile foundations to the seabed.

EMEC’s environmental team conducted surveys on the platform’s piles to gather data on biofouling and corrosion impacts. This data is now with our partners at the University of Hull for analysis, with plans to publish results next year to inform the industry.

With hundreds of MW of floating wind expected to be deployed in Scottish waters over the next 20 years, Orkney and EMEC are situated at the epicenter of the ScotWind offshore wind lease areas. EMEC is building an expanding R&D portfolio in this sector, drawing on over 20 years of experience supporting marine energy technology demonstrations.

Component and sub-system trials

EMEC specializes in facilitating at-sea trials of marine technologies, primarily for wave and tidal energy, however, we have also seen increasing demand from the offshore wind sector as well.
In October, Apollo tested its PALM (Pull and Lock Marine) Charger at EMEC’s Scapa Flow testing site. The ‘plug and play’ charging point is designed to allow electrical service vessels to recharge while operating offshore for extended periods, e.g. at offshore wind farms.

The trials were conducted in collaboration with Orkney-based Leask Marine and EMEC to demonstrate the technology in a real offshore environment. Apollo completed several connect, power, and disconnect operations under varying sea conditions with high reliability of the mechanical and electrical connection. The tests provided vital insights into the marine handling operations which will inform the next stage of development and assist final design refinements. The project was supported by nearly £800,000 in funding from the UK Department for Transport through Innovate UK.

A national floating wind test center

EMEC’s white paper outlining the need for a National Floating Wind Test Centre in the UK has been positively received by the industry. The paper compares 5-year average and 100-year storm event scenarios at existing and proposed floating wind test sites across Europe with the metocean resources that project developers will

face at standard ScotWind, INTOG, and Celtic Sea websites.

The assessment demonstrates that existing European websites lack sufficient energy to be truly representative of floating wind projects in UK waters and emphasizes the need for the UK to establish its own dedicated floating wind testing center to effectively showcase and mitigate risks associated with floating wind technologies for project insurability and bankability. Obtain our national floating wind testing site project information booklet for more details.

Innovation demands offshore wind

We initiated our flagship £1 million innovation competition for offshore wind at the close of 2023, in collaboration with platinum sponsor, West of Orkney Windfarm. The Offshore Wind R&I Programme aims to assist businesses in discovering solutions to specific technical challenges in offshore wind development, thereby accelerating innovation in the sector while embedding economic benefits in Scotland.

The programme is seeking innovative solutions to facilitate faster, cheaper, and lower-risk offshore wind deployment. A series of innovation calls will address various challenges faced by the West of Orkney Windfarm, including metocean, installation, logistics, along with operations and maintenance (O&M).

We will have some exciting announcements early next year as we reveal the winners of our initial innovation call and the launch of our subsequent innovation call.

Additionally, EMEC is evaluating opportunities to broaden the scope of the programme, inviting project developers to sponsor the initiatives and/or innovation calls targeting specific technical, supply, or business challenges.

Alongside demonstrating and testing offshore renewable energy technologies, EMEC is investigating new technologies, energy vectors, and storage solutions to optimize the use of renewables and effectively integrate them into the energy system of the future.

Hydrogen

EMEC runs a green hydrogen production and storage R&D facility onshore in Eday, adjacent to our Fall of Warness tidal testing site. We are in the process of commissioning our newly upgraded 670 kW electrolyser, which we aim to bring online in 2025; this has taken significantly longer than anticipated due to various challenges within the burgeoning hydrogen sector. Once the electrolyser is fully operational, it will be integrated with vanadium flow batteries in a world-first demonstration combining tidal energy with battery storage and hydrogen generation. This will convert ‘clean’ tidal power to produce consistent, on-demand electricity for hydrogen production. With hydrogen widely promoted as a foundational element of future decarbonisation strategies, we have gained invaluable insights from our pioneering experiences and various hydrogen initiatives that we can share with others aiming to incorporate hydrogen into renewable energy systems.

Our comprehension of hydrogen’s role in the forthcoming energy landscape continues to progress as we focus more on hard-to-electrify sectors such as industry, aviation, and maritime. We increasingly view hydrogen’s potential as a building block for synthetic fuel production, particularly within the Orkney context. Liquid-based e-fuels, synthesized from renewable hydrogen combined with non-fossil carbon, present a significant advantage—they can serve as drop-in fuels, necessitating minimal modification of existing engines and refueling infrastructures.

As e-fuels exist in a liquid form, they are also easier to store and transport than gaseous hydrogen. When combusted, they emit net-zero carbon emissions.

Our Managing Director, Neil Kermode, provided further insight into the potential of synthetic aviation fuel for Scotland’s energy transition at the Scottish Energy Forum.

We have contributed our hydrogen knowledge and expertise into various R&D projects this year covering production and end-use, including:

• In January, we commenced a project in partnership with CATAGEN, Orkney Harbours, and Belfast Harbour examining the feasibility of introducing novel e-fuel production technology to market to assist in decarbonizing the UK’s maritime activities. Sponsored by the Department of Transport, the project is preparing a techno-economic feasibility study, with EMEC offering insights and learnings from previous maritime initiatives, assessing the advantages and challenges of synthetic fuels and their applicability in Orkney.
• Project Verdant, a preliminary design and feasibility study exploring the integration of a hydrogen fuel cell system onto an offshore wind crew transfer vessel (CTV) operated by Green Marine. EMEC contributed insights on refueling logistics, safety protocols, and training necessities while conducting in-depth economic modeling for the retrofitted hydrogen CTV.
• HySKUA, a feasibility study investigating the viability of offshore hydrogen production intertwined with offshore wind.
• HyBrine, a study examining the feasibility of seawater electrolysis technology to extract hydrogen and carbon dioxide from seawater. The study focuses on how this technology may be applied to e-fuel production.
• In collaboration with Intelligent Plant, a study is underway to create a decision support system utilizing explainable artificial intelligence to enhance operational efficiency and apply hydrogen safety.
• Off-grid Green Hydrogen Production Demonstration, a feasibility study in partnership with Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult. We conducted hydrogen knowledge exchange workshops and a report to contribute to the potential development of a demonstration.

EMEC is spearheading the Islands Centre for Net Zero (ICNZ), a decade-long initiative supporting Orkney, Shetland, and the Outer Hebrides in becoming exemplary communities in the energy transition. It seeks to explore and trial solutions for decarbonization that can be replicated and applied worldwide. The programme is backed by the UK and Scottish Governments as part of the Islands Development Deal. Since its inception, the ICNZ team has conducted several workshops and public engagements across the islands and participated in Shetland’s Climate Festival and the Orkney agricultural shows, engaging with community groups to understand their concerns and priorities related to energy and decarbonization.

Through discussions with partners and stakeholders, eight project areas have been prioritized initially, including peatland restoration and removal of barriers to practical meter rollout across the three island groups. More localized projects are examining home decarbonization, waste reduction and circular economy, hydrogen technology and innovation, agriculture and sustainable farming, a digital energy heritage trail, and the Island Games 2025.

The team

have also been endorsing:

• The Neighborhood Vitality Scotland led Island Neighborhood Motion Community (iCAN), which convenes virtually each month for themed presentations and discussions on decarbonization and climate initiatives. Meetings have examined community transport, local waste reduction, the Rural Vitality Hubs project, and community climate action planning in conjunction with the Carbon Impartial Islands project.
• ICNZ project collaborators Aquatera are developing a data exchange and carbon computation tool to address the lack of accurate island-specific data for understanding, benchmarking, and monitoring carbon consumption.
• The IsleAI initiative aims to establish a platform to help identify regions affected by fuel poverty.
• Rural Vitality Hubs is working on the Brae Rural Vitality Hub in Shetland, scheduled to open in summer 2025, to offer information and practical solutions to motivate and assist communities in lowering carbon emissions and energy expenses. This innovative center will feature a blend of co-working spaces, a café, rapid charging facilities, a car club, and e-bike rentals.
• Two new Innovate UK supported projects – Electric Orkney and SeaChange – are investigating decarbonization and electrification solutions within the maritime sector.

If you wish to learn more about Orkney’s journey to a net-zero future, Neil Kermode of EMEC and Dr. Gareth Davies of Aquatera presented the inaugural Pete Oswald memorial lecture at the 2024 Orkney International Science Festival, exploring Orkney’s decarbonization progress for the next 5-10 years. Inexperienced and Blue Horizons can be viewed on YouTube.

EMEC commenced the year having won the Excellent Service Award at the Scottish Green Energy Awards 2023 and being granted Independent Research Organization (IRO) status. Both accolades reflect the commitment and hard work demonstrated by our team over the past two decades and EMEC’s added value in applied industrial research. Earning IRO status positions us to compete for research grant funding from the UK’s seven research councils, thereby opening new avenues for collaboration with universities and other research institutions. Please reach out if you are interested in collaborating on projects aimed at advancing decarbonization.

Establishing connections with colleagues in industry, academia, and government is essential for forging partnerships and exchanging knowledge to foster innovation and renewable energy in the UK. This year’s highlights include participating alongside the Orkney supply chain at All-Energy in Glasgow, and more recently, at the Ocean Energy Europe conference in Aviemore. Special thanks to Dr. Alasdair Allan MSP, Scottish Minister for Climate Action, for stopping by for a discussion. We collaborated with Crown Estate Scotland to share insights from the aforementioned tidal offtake report, and assisted our MaRINERGi project partners with a workshop focused on integrating offshore renewable energy testing across Europe.

Additionally, we co-hosted an International WaTERS consenting workshop with FORCE before the Marine Renewables Canada conference in Nova Scotia. Attendees toured the FORCE testing site at the Bay of Fundy, followed by a workshop examining the consenting and regulatory challenges and opportunities.

Closer to home, a highlight of our year remains the Orkney International Science Festival, where our annual open day at the Billia Croo wave test site welcomed over 60 locals and visitors on a beautiful yet windy September day. The following day, we participated in the Family Day in Kirkwall to engage with future researchers and engineers. Involving young people in green career pathways and opportunities in a net-zero future is crucial to ensure we have the skills available as the renewable sector expands. On that note, we’ve also participated in local career fairs, collaborated with our local STEM ambassador to support local educators, and hosted our renewables revolution open day during Shopping Week, attracting over 150 children (and parents) to the Orkney Research and Innovation Centre.

We continue to back local events, having sponsored occasions such as the Orkney Amateur Swimming Club Gala, Eday Show, and the Orkney Folk Festival, with many of our team volunteering throughout the festival, as well as supporting local initiatives, including the Eday Heritage Centre.

This year, EMEC has welcomed visitors including students, researchers, and project partners from around the globe, alongside visits from regulatory bodies, government officials, and our new Climate Minister. Aware that not everyone can travel to Orkney, we’ve also introduced a new virtual tour of our sites, in partnership with Scottish Renewables. The Renewables 360 project brings key Scottish renewable energy projects to Google Street View, allowing you to virtually explore the onshore facilities at EMEC’s wave and tidal energy test sites, as well as the O2 device by Orbital Marine Energy demonstrating at the Fall of Warness.

Promoting Orkney’s energy innovation beyond local borders, we were thrilled to collaborate with the Science Museum for their new gallery, Energy Revolution, The Adani Green Energy Gallery, which opened to the public earlier this year. The gallery focuses on past, present, and future energy systems, featuring a standout attraction: a seven-meter-long tidal turbine blade crafted by Orbital Marine Energy. Utilized on the SR2000, a 63-meter-long, 500-ton tidal turbine deployed at EMEC’s test site from 2016-18, this prototype blade generated sufficient electricity to power a thousand homes by harnessing the strong tidal currents around Orkney.

The establishment of EMEC – the world’s first and foremost test center for marine energy – has significantly influenced Orkney as well as the UK economy regarding employment, supply chain development, and encouraging public and private investment to serve the sector. The economic impact assessment found that the inception of EMEC, and the subsequent developments that have flourished since, have resulted in £370 million gross value added (GVA) to the UK economy. Of that, £263 million was generated in Scotland; and half of that, £130 million, in the Orkney Islands where EMEC is headquartered.

And finally….

Congratulations to Neil Kermode OBE, who received the Excellent Contribution Award at the Subsea Expo Awards 2024, having dedicated his career to combatting climate change, identifying, innovating, and trialing solutions that can reduce carbon emissions and propelling the global expansion of the marine renewable energy sector.

Wishing our team, clients, project partners, suppliers, funders, and supporters from around the globe a joyous Christmas and a prosperous and healthy 2025!