The  £1.8M project, which is led by Tension Technology International Ltd, is being managed out of the Orion Energy Centre in Inverness. The respected group of experts also includes: Bluewater Services, University of Exeter, Bridon International, Vryhof Engineering, TenCate Geosynthetics, Pelamis Wave Power and DNV GL.

The consortium will seek to develop a low cost anchor bag and mooring line system which will be tested at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney. The new system will have applications on a wide range of floating marine energy device types and will produce significant step changes in the cost and reliability of mooring systems.

Orion’s facilities and expertise will be used to carry out scale model wave tank tests of complete mooring systems. The motion and load response of the mooring system will be tracked in the wave tank using the latest equipment. The Orion Energy Centre will deploy a new 6D camera tracking system to measure the performance of the mooring system and buoy dynamics.

“As project leaders, we are very excited to be working in close cooperation with Orion Energy Centre and other partners," said Stephen Banfield, managing director, Tension Technology International Ltd. "Our consortium is able to tap into the expertise and marine renewable energy heritage associated with this state-of-the-art testing facility.”

The project is funded by the Scottish Government under the Marine Renewables Commercialisation Fund.