Supacat Delivers Refurbished “Lifesaver” Wave Energy Converter to Fred. Olsen

The refurbished BOLT “Lifesaver” wave energy converter has been delivered to owner Fred.Olsen Ltd by Supacat following a three month project refurbishing the converter’s `intelligent systems` at the Devon engineering firm’s facilities in Dunkeswell and Blackhill Engineering.

After over two years of full scale sea testing at FabTest UK, the device has undergone an upgrade and refurbishment programme in preparation for further trials in Hawaii where the device will undergo further trials with the US Navy.

Supacat is a strategic partner to Fred. Olsen on “Lifesaver” and has provided vital design and manufacturing skills both during and after the innovative technology project, which was part funded by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB). To develop “Lifesaver” Fred.Olsen Ltd turned to a collaboration of industry and academia partners centred in the South West, which in addition to Supacat, included the University of Exeter (Falmouth campus).

“The commitment and expertise of the collaboration both during and subsequent to the TSB programme, as well as support provided by other organisations in the region, such as RegenSW and the Marine Energy Park, has helped this project achieve the success it has as it moves on to the next phase of its development. We are particularly proud of the lasting and productive relationship we have developed with the Fred. Olsen team and look forward to working with them, as well as with other developers who come to the region in the future”, said Joe Wilcox, Head of Marine & Renewables, Supacat.

"Even Hjetland, Project Manager for Fred. Olsen Limited said, “When testing prototypes, problems will always present themselves, and having partners like Supacat to bring their design and manufacturing experience together with a willingness to assist has been key to the success of this stage of the project. The test site at FaBTest has presented the device with a wide range of operating conditions – including some significant storm events – that have helped to prove the robustness of the design and construction and this helped us understand the real world operating performance. The next step is to demonstrate this experience to new markets and set the scope for the next stages of the development of the technology".

The Devon based innovative engineering firm, Supacat, has a complete engineering capability spanning design, prototyping, testing and trialing, certification and low rate production. Services include system integration and support services across post design services, repairs, spares, to deployed support on site.

 

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