Inyanga-Tech secures marine engineering contract for mWave

Cornish start-up Inyanga-Tech has been hired by Bombora Wave Power Europe for marine engineering services as part of mWave wave energy device demonstration project.

The scope of contract includes advising on aspects of the mWave design that have an effect on marine operations, as well as producing methodologies and supporting documentation for offshore operations backed up with appropriate engineering analysis, according to contract award notice on Sell2Wales.

Also, Inyanga-Tech will be tasked with managing the execution of offshore operations, and additional work related to development of the mWave project, the contract awarded to the company early in November 2018 states.

To remind, the Australian-based Bombora Wave Power secured a multi-million dollar investment from Enzen in 2017 to support the construction of its first commercial-sized mWave wave energy device.

Subsequently, the company established its European subsidiary in the south of Wales at Pembroke Dock to house a team focused on the project to design, fabricate and test the first 1.5MW mWave prototype.

Bombora’s mWave device features a series of air-inflated rubber membranes mounted to a concrete structure on the sea floor. As waves pass over the mWave, the air inside the membranes is squeezed into a duct and through a turbine.

The turbine spins a generator to produce electricity. The air is then recycled to re-inflate the membranes to prepare them for the next wave.

The €20 million demonstration project is also part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.