Shell joins Scottish project testing wave power for subsea equipment

Oil major Shell Plc (LON:SHEL) has joined a project in Scotland, where wave power paired with subsea energy storage is powering offshore subsea equipment.

The GBP-2-million (USD 2.6m/EUR 2.3m) Renewables for Subsea Power (RSP) project, already operational for 10 months off the coast of Orkney, seeks to demonstrate how green technologies can provide reliable low-carbon power and communications to subsea equipment as an alternative to umbilical cables. It combines Edinburgh company Mocean Energy’s Blue X wave energy converter with a Halo underwater battery storage system developed by Aberdeen intelligent energy management firm Verlume.

Shell follows the suit of French energy company TotalEnergies SE, which joined the project in December. Also involved are Baker Hughes, Serica Energy, Harbour Energy, Transmark Subsea, PTTEP, TotalEnergies and the Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC).

Shell has invested via the Shell Technology – Marine Renewable Programme, a global research and development (R&D) venture.

“This new investment by Shell underscores the international interest in our pan-industry project and we look forward to working with them and exploring potential new applications for RSP’s combined technologies,” commented Mocean Energy commercial director Ian Crossland.

(GBP 1 = USD 1.276/EUR 1.173)

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