Crimson

Commercialisation of a Recyclable and Innovative Manufacturing Solution for an Optimised Novel marine turbine (CRIMSON).

Funded by:

European Commission H2020 FAST TRACK TO INNOVATION (FTI) (H2020-EIC-FTI-2018-2020) (Grant No. 971209)

Partners:

NUI Galway, Éirecomposites Teo (project lead), Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC), CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHE, Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials GmbH 

Description:

The CRIMSON project will bring to market a reliable, sustainable, marine energy turbine, and is underpinned by the application of novel materials and an advanced manufacturing process. The key driver for this project is the global potential to generate 120GW of clean, predictable electricity from the kinetic marine energy in rivers and tidal currents. CRIMSON will provide high-performance, low-cost, and scalable marine hydrokinetic (MHK) power systems to the market using manufacturing techniques suitable for high-volume manufacturing with recycled materials.

The immediate impact of this disruptive technology will be to demonstrate the technical and commercial potential of harnessing marine hydrokinetic energy; the longer term impact will be to reduce the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) for the European citizen – the ultimate beneficiary of this innovation. CRIMSON will also deliver significant positive impacts in terms of industry/EU competitiveness and scalable company growth in revenue & jobs (€300m of revenues & over 200 jobs by 2026).

This ambitious project is led by ÉireComposites, an established industry player in composites manufacturing for the Aerospace and Renewable Energy sectors and an experienced FP7/Horizon 2020 participant, who will coordinate the project and manufacture the rotating turbine structure. Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC), a leading marine energy OEM and technology end-user, is the second industry partner. ORPC has already invested substantial funds (in excess of €100m) in the commercialisation of marine energy and is determined to become a global leader in the sector. Their adoption of the CRIMSON technology will demonstrate its early market acceptance. To achieve the goals of CRIMSON, the project will be supported by a materials specialist (Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials), a testing partner (CNR, the Italian National Research Council) and an academic partner (National University of Ireland Galway).

Project Objectives:

• The overarching aim of the CRIMSON project is to bring to market an innovative MHK power system at reduced cost and increased reliability/performance with full consideration and planning for the cradle to grave lifecycle, and with a goal of maximizing recycled content in manufacture. The immediate impact of the market adoption of this technology will be to displace energy production from fossil fuels with renewable marine energy that have a high cost of energy. The medium-term impact of the project will be to demonstrate a technology that has the potential to generate gigawatts of energy from tidal currents.

   

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