Engineers from Nautricity, a Glasgow-based spin-out company of Strathclyde University, claimed to have developed a marine turbine, which is capable of producing domestically cost-effective electricity from tidal energy.
They will commence testing their new patented rotor system, known as CoRMaT, which overcomes most of the difficulties that makes power production from tidal sources costly.
Unlike traditional tidal turbines that are tied-up to the sea bed, resulting in costly maintenance and installation charges, the small and free-floating CoRMat is attached to a surface float and utilizes a compact contra-rotating rotor to generate tidal energy. The device can be positioned up to 500m depths in water. The closely spaced rotors, utilized in the device, stir in opposite directions and stay firm to manage the swift tidal flows without getting damaged.
Earlier, the engineers utilized a concept version of the device to produce electricity successfully. The final device before completing its commercialization process will be put into a strenuous testing process by the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney. The company also has plans to change the testing to Canada, Asia or the Mediterranean destinations counting on the support level it gets from private and government agencies.
Nautricity commenced its operations in the year 2009 and has invested over £2m in the CoRMat project by utilizing the support it received from private equity investors.
Source: http://www.nautricity.com/