Products - TWEFDA Limited
The TWEFDA Association is made of two different parts, ES -Wave and the TWEFDA Hub. Our tidal and wave generator is more accurately classified as a point absorber among the so-called Wave Energy Converters (WEC). Seeking a single word to define the TWEFDA Association, we may use flexibility. The TWEFDA Association means to assist other businesses in the TWEFDA Hub. The key location of the TWEFDA Hub with jacket, pipelines and wells allow the exploitation of other businesses. The TWEFDA Association groups all those potential businesses and the cooperation with other offshore assets, such as wind farms.
ONE MACHINE - TWO PURPOSESÂ
Some key facets and capabilities of this mentioned TWEFDA Association are summarised below:
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Integration of different technologies offshore, such as wind farms, floating PV, and any other generator. The device can augment existing offshore power producers but importantly can also enable others by providing a unique storage capability during grid constraint situations. This energy storage does not require batteries and reduces the demands on unsustainable, resource depleting battery technology.
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Communication Hub. With time, a wide ring along the North Sea will bring power exchange and allow to communicate electrically and data wise the different countries sharing that space. Using a TWEFDA Hub will allow the connection points to be accessible.
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System simplicity and interoperability: The TWEFDA Association is designed to be unmanned, requiring minimal maintenance with consequently low OPEX;
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A forecast from satellites in outer space can convert the TWEFDA Hub into an uninterrupted source of renewable power. The forecast will allow foresight to know the periods when there will be a flat or low generation status (no point to generate) or a severe storm in the ocean that becomes dangerous. If this is envisaged, one device can 'charge' other devices for the energy to be delivered to the customer during the period in which the ocean is not favourable.
Meet the TWEFDA Hub
TWEFDA Hub
The TWEFDA Hub acts as a multi-source farm integrating other near offshore farms.
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In particular, the TWEFDA Hub brings, at least, all the following advantages:
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Reduction on CAPEX: In a first approach to numbers, 6 standalone ES-Wave devices will require more than 100 external elements to operate with little efficiency. By using the TWEFDA Hub, the number goes down to some 16 elements (the size of these elements will be bigger though).
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Reduction on OPEX: Less elements in the installation, means less in commissioning and decommissioning costs but also less maintenance to perform.
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Reduction in essential weight: This means that the ES-Wave devices will oscillate with more freedom and, therefore, their performance (highly dependent on the mass) will be significantly increased. If the device is lighter than it should for the state of the ocean, there are mechanisms to provide more weight by bringing seawater to the device).
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Increment in Performance: In a not very energetic ocean, a generator of a standalone ES-Wave will operate with little performance (in relation with its capacity). By using 1 single generator for 6 ES-Wave devices, the performance of that generator will significantly improve and therefore the power delivered by the association of all the ES-Wave devices.
Meet ES-WAVE
ES - Wave
Our ES-Wave device can harness unprecedented levels of energy and its portability allows it to be sitting in different locations. As such, it can be considered a gem.
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It is also a dual function machine. This allows the ES-Wave to work as a generator by converting the reciprocating heave of waves into electrical energy or using electrical energy to be self-jacked up.
Using the tidal range, the machine can potentially deliver to the Energy provider (usually the National Grid) even more energy than what was absorbed from it. The name of our ES-Wave device should therefore have two gems mentioned in order to highlight these features: E for emerald and S for sapphire and this gave us an ES starting point for the name.
Why an Emerald?
Our ES-Wave does not have a neutral but a positive impact on the environment.
Its impact would be neutral if we only considered the fact that the machinery is enclosed in an insulated box which protects the fauna from noises, has gratings for the safeguard of wildlife, and uses an environmentally friendly fluid that will not cause any damage in
case of spillage.
The positive impact comes from the fact that the ES-Wave device is like an island in the middle of the ocean, representing an opportunity for tired fishing birds to rest.
Potentially, it could even constitute a nesting point for marine birds to breed. With all of this, the emerald was chosen because it is a green jewel. It is as green as the energy that our ES-Wave is capable of producing.
Why a Sapphire?
The other jewel comes from the ability to deal with the ocean in a manner that protects the asset in all weather conditions because gems need to be protected. The jacking-up feature and the portability of the tool will look after the gem under rough sea conditions.
With all this, the selected gem was the deep blue sapphire which clearly represents the power of the deep ocean. The essential source that makes the generator work, which is the waves, should also be mentioned. Hence the full name ES-Wave.
Technical Overview
Our ES-Wave is technically a point absorber wave energy converter when acting as a generator and works similarly to a Pumped Hydro when acting as an energy storage device. The device brings a dual business stream (Renewable Energy Production and Green Energy Storage). Technically speaking we can highlight the following value propositions:
Portable and SafeÂ
Possibility of Working 24/7
Cost Effective
Reliable
Value Proposition
The most important Value Proposition the device has is its working strategy which potentially allows the device to be working on a 24/7 basis.
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An Intellectual Property (IP) Audit has confirmed the technology behind our invention is unique, and we have filed for a patent, which is pending.
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A key design element is the repurposing of existing structures used in oil and gas extraction, such as jackets or pipelines, which contributes to a circular economy and reduces the ecological and carbon footprints of new electric generating installations.
Environment
Working StrategyÂ
The ISO 56002:2019 speaks about sustainability within their guide on Innovation management system...
Economics
The TWEFDA Hub is formed by a number of ES-Wave devices and a common platform where the energy is processed...
Oil & Gas
An ES-Wave is a very versatile and well optimised machine allowing for strong uptime and performance.
A TWEFDA Hub is the target of construction for the ES-Wave...
Increase Profit: The ES-Wave can potentially be utilised in existing and new oil platforms to increase a platform's profitability, drive down ...
All these advantages, together with the complete value propositions of the TWEFDA WEC (Wave Energy Converter), suggest that the time has come to consider a new actor in the generation and storage of renewable electricity.
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We welcome approaches from all quarters interested in bringing the TWEFDA Wave Energy Converter to commercial deployment as a matter of urgency, be they engineers, backers, manufacturers, energy producers or suppliers.
How are we different?
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​​​Capacity Factor: The capacity factor for wind farms was about 37.4% in 2018 reaching 63% with the avant-garde Haliade-X. The estimates for the capacity factor for our ES-Wave are over 80% as a generator and close to 100% by using its dual capabilities.
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Small Space: The physical size of the ES-Wave, and the space it requires, are a fraction of what wind turbines would require to create a similar amount of energy. This is because the array of devices can be placed much closer together (wind turbines need to be separated from each other using a larger area because their blades create turbulences in the wind flow; the ES-Wave does not suffer from such interferences) Comparing the Beatrice wind farm (84 turbines and 131 Km²) with our TWEFDA Hub (6 ES-Wave occupying 18,390 m²), the ratio is more than 500 times less spatial footprint per device.
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Continuous Resource: Renewable energies, such as solar or wind, are resources of intermittent availability. Tides and waves are however, although variables, virtually continuous resources.
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Dual function machine: This allows the ES-Wave to work as a generator by converting the reciprocating heave of waves into electrical energy or using electrical energy to be self-jacked up.
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Easy & Safe Maintenance: The ES-Wave is a lot easier and safer to maintain than a wind turbine. The generator is almost flat to the sea surface, reducing the height a maintenance engineer needs to climb in order to reach their target. For example, the nacelle of wind turbines is situated usually almost at 100 meters or more from the sea surface. Most of the maintenance will be done in the central point of the REH with plenty of space and almost with no risks. If the maintenance needs to be done in the ES-Wave this can be jacked up to be above sea oscillations (meaning that the maintenance operations will be undertaken in a very safe environment). For any major maintenance, the ES-Wave can be disconnected and towed to shore.