DESTINY · Moment-based nonlinear energy-maximising optimal control of wave energy systems to secure a renewable future

Moment-based nonlinear energy-maximising optimal control of wave energy systems to secure a renewable future

Ocean waves have an enormous potential, capable of fulfilling 20% of the global energy demand, making a decisive contribution towards a low-carbon energy society, addressing number 7 (affordable and clean energy), 11 (sustainable cities and communities), and 13 (climate action) of the United Nation Development Goals. As a matter of fact, to achieve the 2030 Climate & Energy Framework and the Roadmap 2050 targets, the European Union (EU) highly encourages development of the ocean renewable energy field, which can potentially mitigate EU dependence on fossil fuels, directly contributing to Europe’s decarbonisation goals by 2030 and 2050. Despite being a vast resource, wave energy converters (WECs) have not yet been successfully commercialised. The lack of proliferation of wave energy can be attributed to its current levelised cost of energy (LCoE), which is currently substantially higher than other renewable energy sources. Appropriate control system technology can impact WEC design and operation, by maximising energy extraction from waves, and optimising energy conversion in the system. In particular, the central problem in WEC control is to find a technically feasible way to ‘act’ on the device so that energy absorption from waves is maximised while minimising the risk of component damage. It is already clear that control technology can enhance WECs performance in a wide range of ocean conditions, substantially reducing the LCoE. In other words, the design of appropriate control technology, together with an economy of scale facilitated through array configurations, constitute key stepping-stones towards successful commercialisation of WEC technology. In an effort to assist in the pathway towards making wave energy technology widely available, Destiny is a project dedicated to advance the state-of-the-art of WEC control technology by providing a novel and reliable nonlinear optimal control framework, maximising energy absorption for a wide range of ocean conditions for single and multiple devices, exhibiting real-time capabilities and globally optimal performance. In particular, Destiny focuses in a development of a reliable energy-maximising WEC controller based on the mathematical concept of a moment, which is essentially an object connected to the dynamical response of the system. The major overall objectives of the project are to: (1) laid the foundations for a control framework capable of handling a wide class of WEC systems, which can be potentially highly complex and nonlinear; (2) assess and validate the performance of the control technique in realistic scenarios, to provide a tangible proof of reliability and energy absorption enhancement; (3) include WEC arrays (that is, multiple devices) within the framework, to fully assist in the pathway towards commercialisation; and (4) release an open-source software for smooth and straightforward implementation of the results of the project.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union