Checkmate secures grant from Innovate UK to advance wave energy

Working with partners including Swansea University, CGEN Engineering, the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, and Wave Venture, the project will deliver new hardware, testing, and research infrastructure in the region. The work will advance the technology readiness and performance of the Lobe-Tendon Anaconda and pave the way for future sea trials at the Welsh Marine Energy Test Area (META).

Paul Auston, Director of Checkmate Flexible Engineering, said: “This grant allows us to accelerate the Anaconda’s development and build on the innovation our team has already delivered, with a clear path toward future sea trials. It’s an exciting step forward, not just for Checkmate, but for the future of wave energy in Wales and the Celtic Sea, where we see enormous potential to deliver clean, predictable power at scale.”

Checkmate’s Anaconda Lobe-Tendon captures wave energy through a patented ‘bulge tube’ design. The tube is made of an outer tube pulled into lobes by hundreds of internal tendons. The outer tube is constructed from reinforced natural rubber, a material chosen for its strength, flexibility, and resilience in harsh marine environments. The internal tendons are constructed from high-performance natural rubber. As ocean waves travel along the length of the flexible tube, they create pressure bulges inside the structure. These bulges move toward a power take-off system at the end of the tube, where their energy is converted into clean electricity. The speed of the internal bulge waves can be matched to the ocean wave speed, to maximise energy production, or detuned from the ocean wave speed to maximise survivability.

Dr Brian Mathew, MP and member of the Marine Energy All-Party Parliamentary Group, said: “I welcome this exciting news, and I’m pleased to see innovative solutions on renewable energy like this being well supported and funded. It’s testament to the incredible expertise we have here in Wiltshire, and I will be watching on keenly in the coming months and years to see how the Anaconda develops.”

Vice Admiral Sir Adrian Johns, KCB, CBE, KStJ, DL., added: “As a former seafarer, I am fully aware of the power of the sea and the as yet untapped potential for harnessing wave energy. Having followed Anaconda’s progress over many years from the earliest scale model water tank trials, I am delighted that this truly innovative project will now be able to take the next big step towards delivering clean, renewable energy at full scale.”

Over the next 18 months, the Môr Neidr project will combine advanced numerical modelling with a programme of tank trials, PTO dry testing, materials testing and construction of a section of a 1:4 scale prototype tube. These activities will refine and validate the Lobe-Tendon Anaconda design and prepare the technology for a future sea trial at the META.

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