IDOM carries out tank testing campaign of the MARMOK Oscillating Water Column wave device

Drawing on support from the first phase of the EuropeWave programme, IDOM has completed developing and adapting its MARMOK technology for deployment in demanding open sea environmental conditions. Over the last seven months, the design process has included an extensive tank testing campaign of a scaled prototype, conducted in the Instituto Hidráulico de Cantabria’s (IHC) coastal and ocean basin.

This testing campaign validated IDOM’s numerical power performance models and confirmed the robustness and survivability of the device under extreme environmental conditions. According to IDOM’s team, the obtained results are more than satisfactory, meeting expectations not only in terms of hydrodynamic behaviour, but also in power performance and extreme loads.

“The successful advancement through EuropeWave’s PCP funding programme would mean a significant step forward for IDOM. The phased approach of the programme will support the development of an improved wave energy converter (WEC) based on the previous offshore experience. IDOM’s prototype device, MARMOK A-5, was tested at the Biscay Marine Energy Platform (BiMEP), successfully weathering three winters in the open waters of the Bay of Biscay.

Building on this experience, the current design under EuropeWave programme aims at maximising the power performance while minimising costs, as well as maintaining the demonstrated technology’s robustness, survivability, and maintainability. The results obtained so far are very promising and encouraging”, commented Borja de Miguel, Project Manager of the MARMOK project.