Instant Force & Model Predictive Control for Ocean Energy Power take-off with high Fidelity (INFINITY)

Project Description

The main objective of the INFINITY project is to develop an innovative Power Take Off (PTO) and non-linear control system to accelerate wave energy deployments in Europe by overcoming the technical and financial barriers that have prevented it from being successfully commercialised as a mainstream renewable. Optimising power take-off systems and controls for wave energy converters is an essential step in improving overall performance, efficiency, and reliability of these technologies. INFINITY delivers the next generation PTO and control system design for reliability and circularity, by bringing together the learnings and core resources from both the H2020 IMPACT and the VALID projects to include optimal design of the PTO system, nonlinear moment-based model predictive control (MPC) strategies, validation through dry testing and to demonstrate a circular industrial supply chain. With Operations & Maintenance (O&M) accounting for as much as 30% of the total lifecycle cost of wave farms, to further drive OPEX reductions, the sector needs efficient O&M strategies. This strategy starts by designing devices for a high level of reliability, implementing advanced monitoring and predictive maintenance schemes to increase Mean Time Between Failures (MTBFs), availability, and increased power production. The new INFINITY control system will demonstrate how real-time adaptability to operational wear and fatigue enables improvements in the system lifetime, maintainability, and thus availability. Altogether, these optimisations are expected to increase the service interval from 2 to 5 years and reduce OPEX by 50%.