The CorPower C4 device was launched from the port of Viana do Castello, before being towed to the Aguçadoura site 4km offshore.
After connecting to a pre-installed UMACK anchor on the seabed, the device was connected to the Portuguese national grid through a subsea export cable. The system will now undergo commissioning to verify functions and operational modes. Operations and Maintenance (O&M) methods for offshore service access, device retrieval and tow-back to the on-land service base in Viana do Castelo will also be tested.
CorPower director of integration & testing Jean-Michel Chauvet said: “We are now entering an exciting phase demonstrating our first commercial scale machine. This builds on 40 years of scientific research followed by a decade of structured engineering to deliver a step-change improvement to the performance and reliability of wave energy.”
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The C4 previously completed a one-year dry test program with simulated wave loading in Stockholm to tune and debug the system, which includes storm protection for extreme conditions and advanced control technology for amplified power capture in regular sea states.
Having entered the final phase of a structured 5-stage product verification process, which began in 2012, CorPower Ocean aims to take its technology to a type-certified bankable technology offering in the coming years.
The Hiwave-5 Project is funded by the Swedish Energy Agency and Portugal 2020 through AICEP Global (Norte2020) and CCDR-N. CorPower Ocean has also been supported financially by EIT InnoEnergy, the European Commission, Wave Energy Scotland, CoreSpring New Technology, ALMI Invest Greentech, SEB Greentech VC and additional private investors.
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