Significant performance and efficiency improvement was achieved in the D2T2 turbine by removing the need for a gearbox

Nova Innovation manufactures direct-drive tidal turbine. (Credit: Nova Innovation Ltd)

Scottish tidal energy company Nova Innovation has manufactured 100kW direct-drive tidal turbine for deployment at Nova’s tidal array off Shetland.

The company said it achieved a significant improvement in the performance and efficiency of the D2T2 turbine by removing the need for a gearbox, resulting in reduced cost of tidal energy by 30%.

The European Innovation Council (EIC) Taskforce director Jean-David Malo said: “We are very happy to see the excellent progress the tidal energy industry has made in recent years, with projects such as Nova Innovation’s D2T2 have helped with this by significantly reducing costs associated with the industry.

“These advances are helping to ensure tidal energy is on track to achieve the targets within the EU SET-Plan, helping the EU combat climate change and move towards being carbon neutral. A concrete contribution to the Green Deal goals.”

D2T2 project backed by European Union’s Horizon 2020 research funding

The D2T2 project is backed by funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement.

Nova Innovation CEO Simon Forrest said: “We are delighted that our new turbine is now successfully complete and ready to be deployed in commercial projects around the world.

“The EIC’s programme has turbo-charged the commercialisation of Nova, helping to drive Europe’s Green Deal and blue economy. The ingenuity and clever simplicity of our product has helped drive down costs, making tidal energy increasingly bankable.”

Nova said it has secured a deal to export 15 D2T2 units to Canada, and also signed three power purchase agreements.

The D2T2 turbine has undergone extensive testing onshore and in the ocean. Its performance was verified independently by third-party industry experts.

In 2018, Nova Innovation announced the integration of its tidal energy array with Tesla Powerpack to deliver the first grid-connected ‘baseload’ tidal power station.