Technology Strategy Board News

QinetiQ’s ship and submersible design software, Paramarine, has been used by Mojo Maritime to design an offshore construction vessel for the marine renewables sector. The Hi Flo 4 (HF4) is a dynamic positioning vessel capable of operating in extreme coastal and continental shelf environments, designed with the support of InnovateUK (formerly the Technology Strategy  Board). Mojo Maritime recently won the Best Tidal Industry Collaboration Award at the 8th International Tidal Energy Summit for its leadership of the HF4 R&D consortium…

The world’s first marine engine to be run using the exceptionally clean fuel of glycerine will be on display at Seawork 2014 together with a seminar session entitled ‘Will my ship/workboat run on this?’ where interested parties can find out more about the fuel’s possibilities for use in the marine sector. The Cummins marine engine will be on display throughout the exhibition on the Alicat workboat on berth V28, courtesy of Gardline Marine Services, who are partners in the GLEAMS (Glycerine Fuel for Engines and Marine Sustainability) project, and Dalby Offshore, the vessel’s new owners.

The Technology Strategy Board GLEAMS project is currently investigating technology by which marine vessels will be able to surpass the very highest regulatory standards required for sulphur and nitrous oxide emissions, as well as slashing their carbon emissions and potentially reducing fuel costs. One solution may be the use of glycerol, (commonly glycerine), as a fuel for marine diesel engines. There is a global oversupply of glycerol, a by-product of the expanding biofuel industry.

The Whatever Input to Torsion Transfer (WITT) transmission system is unique and capable of collecting chaotic movement in any direction to turn it into useable power. The Technology Strategy Board award for Vessel Efficiency is the first of its kind and follows successful testing of the device in the Wave Tank at Plymouth University and in Plymouth Sound, UK. The project, Energy Harvesting Technology from Vessel Motion, will be led by A&P Falmouth Limited, with Devon-based Supacat…

WaveSentry, a Technology Strategy Board funded project backed by a consortium of industry and academic experts, successfully concluded at the end of April with an event to present the key outcomes of the project explore technologies and opportunities for further development of wave measurement and maritime forecasting. The WaveSentry project consortium aimed to develop a new information and forecasting tool for managing the risks of marine operations in adverse sea states. Delegates…

Marine operations such as offshore oil and gas operations, renewable energy projects and shipping depend on high quality information on sea-state (wave height, period, direction, steepness) for economic and safety decision making. The information currently available is based on atmospheric/ocean models and lacks sufficient temporal and spatial resolution. “Wave conditions are always changing and can vary tremendously over a period of a few hours”, said Chelsea’s Technical Manager, Paul Bolton.

Maritime CCS "feasible, and can reduce emissions by 65%", says DNV and PSE. Det Norske Veritas (DNV), a leading classification society, and Process Systems Enterprise Ltd. (PSE), a global provider of advanced process modelling technology, today have released the results of the Maritime CCS (carbon capture and storage) research and development project. The project has successfully developed a concept design for on-board chemical CO2 capture. The system consists of a chemical absorption plant that separates CO2 from flue gases…

IMarEST Ship Propulsion Systems Conference speaker explains the government's new initiative in advance of upcoming meeting. The UK Government’s Technology Strategy Board (TSB) is shortly to announce the launch of a competition into vessel efficiency, with up to £8 million of funding available, opening for expressions of interest in January 2013. In view of the theme of the 3rd IMarEST Ship Propulsion Systems Conference (London, 20-21 November 2012), Andrew Tate, Capability Advisor – Maritime Resilience, DSTL Naval Systems has joined the speakers’ panel to explain the initiarive. “Central funding of marine research and development is limited in the current market…

Engineering company OSBIT Power (OP) has been confirmed as a successful bidder to a major Government scheme to support manufacturers developing next generation offshore wind technology. OP, based in Riding Mill, Northumberland has been awarded a £615,000 grant to help develop its MaXccess offshore wind access technology to facilitate safe personnel transfer from the larger dynamically-positioned vessels expected to be used on future offshore wind projects. “The coalition is determined to drive ambitious green growth, and this is putting our money where our mouth is,” said Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker. “This cash shows that we are delivering on our commitment to support innovation and offshore wind.

Chelsea Sensor equipment to be fitted to French ferry to progress WaveSentry sea-state forecasting project. Novel sensors, provided by the Chelsea Technologies Group are to be fitted to a cross-channel ferry to collect vessel motion data as part of the WaveSentry project which is being managed by Marine South East. This motion data will be processed to derive certain indirect sea-state measurements which will be merged with a range of other data feeds within the WaveSentry sea-state measurement and forecasting system.

Inmarsat (LSE:ISAT) has announced the commercial availability of a new voice distress service on FleetBroadband. The free-to-use service ensures that, in the event of an emergency, all non-priority telephone calls underway on the vessel’s FleetBroadband are interrupted, connecting the caller directly to a Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC). The new voice distress service requires a simple software and hardware add-on, which provides a ‘red button’ for one-touch easy use. The new service also utilises the enhanced capability of the FleetBroadband network, as it simultaneously sends an email to the MRCC and network controllers to alert them to a call, providing additional data such as vessel name, identification and position.

Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: OPTT) announced financial results for its fiscal fourth quarter and year ended April 30, 2011. • Contract backlog increased to a record $8.9 million as of April 30, 2011. This reflects $10.3 million of new orders brought in during fiscal year 2011, including recent US Department of Energy (“DOE”) awards for the PB150 program in Reedsport, Oregon and for development of the next generation PB500 PowerBuoy. • Revenue increased by 31% for the twelve months ended April 30, 2011 compared to fiscal 2010, reflecting orders from the US Navy, DOE and the United Kingdom’s Technology Strategy Board. • Achieved Lloyd’s Register certification for the PB150 PowerBuoy design…