Scottish Government Creates 'Wave Energy Scotland'

29th November 2014

The Scottish Government will establish a new wave energy technology development body. Wave Energy Scotland will be tasked with bringing together the best engineering and academic minds to collaborate on innovative projects that will
accelerate the development of wave technologies.

Organisation objectives
The objectives for Wave Energy Scotland recognise the significant value that has accrued to Scotland in the development of wave technology to date, and the large global market that can be developed through further technological innovation:
 Seek to retain the intellectual property and know-how from device development in Scotland for future benefit;
 Enable Scotland's indigenous technologies to reach commercial readiness in the most efficient and effective manner, and in a way that allows the publicsector to exit in due course;
 Ensure that the learning, in particular the learning from Scotland's leading wave technologies, is retained and used to benefit the wave energy industry;
 Avoid duplication in funding, encourage collaboration between companies and research institutes and foster greater standardisation across the industry;
 Ensure value for money from public sector investment; and
 Promote greater confidence in the technical performance of wave energy systems in order to encourage the return of private sector investment.

One of the most important challenges for the wave sector is the lack of design convergence. The long-term success for wave energy will depend crucially on deeper collaboration between technologies and reduced duplication in addressing
the common technological challenges, from reliability and survivability through to
performance enhancement and cost reduction.

In supporting wave energy technology development, Wave Energy Scotland will focus particularly on optimising subsystems within devices and supporting risk reduction in high-criticality component development and innovation. The initial emphasis will be on the immediate wave energy challenges for Scotland but, in future, Wave Energy Scotland will look at challenges that are common to the wider wave (and offshore renewables) sector. Its ultimate aim will be to develop technologies that can be commercialised by the private sector. It is anticipated that increased levels of collaboration and design convergence
within the wave sector will secure greater involvement and active participation from Subsystems include control systems, power take off systems, electronics, cooling systems, device structure, bearings, hydraulic systems, intelligent PMS (predictive maintenance systems), foundations and moorings.

Through Wave Energy Scotland, the public sector will fund a series of procurement calls, aimed at encouraging collaboration between device developers, researchers and large engineering firms. In line with state aid requirements, the projects must aim to develop new knowledge that is useful to the wider wave sector and there must be wide dissemination of research results on a non-exclusive and non-discriminatory basis. This should position Wave Energy Scotland to participate in forthcoming EU research programmes. A model for handling intellectual property rights will be developed as part of a detailed business plan.

Wave Energy Scotland's first task will be to identify the optimal areas for research and innovation. These areas will be agreed in consultation with a range of stakeholders, including device developers, project developers, supply chain
companies, academia and utilities, but the criteria they should fulfil are that they:
 allow accelerated progression towards successful wave technology
development and demonstration;
 provide opportunities for generating intellectual property;
 allow development of technology that is potentially transferrable to other
sectors (tidal, floating offshore wind etc.);
 provide the opportunity to deliver disruptive technology that can have a major
impact on device cost and/or performance; and
 generate economic and community benefit within Scotland.
A delivery team has been formed with officials from the Scottish Government,
Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Scottish Enterprise. It will organise
consultation events with key stakeholders and bring Wave Energy Scotland into full
operation.

The high-level objectives for Wave Energy Scotland are set out at paragraph two. The aim is to enable at least one wave technology to reach the point where it is commercially viable (anticipated timeframe: 2020 to 2025).

The creation of Wave Energy Scotland underlines the Scottish Government's support for the wave sector - and the wider marine energy sector. In recognition of the changing market conditions the sector is experiencing, this is a new model of
support for the wave sector. It represents a move away from the company-focused approach to date towards a model that will encourage deeper collaboration and less duplication of effort on the underlying technological and system challenges of
capturing the energy of the waves.

The approach is intended to help maintain Scotland's position as a global leader in marine energy. It will build on Scotland's valuable engineering and academic expertise; existing testing infrastructure; and the industry's monumental achievements to date.

Wave Energy Scotland will be a wave energy technology development body to encourage innovation in the industry, similar in some ways to the former National Engineering Laboratory
It will be a new entity in the Scottish public sector.

Wave Energy Scotland will be funded by the Scottish Government and is expected to be administered by Highlands and Islands Enterprise. It will have strong industry input through an independent board and chief executive officer (appointed in
line with the Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies in Scotland). In developing the model, there will be further consultation with sector stakeholders.

Staffing
Wave Energy Scotland will employ a core team of senior engineering and research staff. The size and skill mix of the team will be established by the new body’s leadership team.

Cost/Budget
The operational costs of Wave Energy Scotland will be clarified as the model is developed. However, it is recognised a significant budget will be required over a sustained period to realise the benefits expected from the new entity. Funds will be
made available from within the Scottish energy budget.

Professor Stephen Salter, the ‘founding father’ of wave energy technology:"Developers need to be in alliance with each other against the hazards of the sea rather than fighting one another for inadequate funding. "I welcome the commitment of the Scottish Government to the wave energy sector and hope that Wave Energy Scotland will allow more cooperation between
sectors of the industry and that the removal of duplication will give time to design the best hardware."

Lindsay Leask, senior policy manager, Scottish Renewables:
"The Scottish Government should be applauded for the creation of Wave Energy
Scotland, which will provide crucial support to the home-grown Scottish
companies who dominate the sector and allow collaboration on key shared
engineering issues."