OHT awarded 300 000 EUR in funding from the Swedish Energy Agency for InfinityWEC power take-off and control system project.

InfinityWEC´s power take-off system (PTO) consists of ball screw actuators with torque motors and a pneumatic gas spring to provide cost effective instantaneous force control capability. An advanced optimal force control strategy is applied to maximize energy output as well as to limit buoy motions and PTO loads to reduce cost and ensure reliability and survivability of the system.

The main objective of the project is to design, build and test the InfinityWEC PTO in scale 1/10, with all main features of the machine and control system included. The system will be tested in a hardware-in-the-loop test rig setup that will simulate the wave-buoy interaction, i.e. the PTO will function as in a real sea trial, but in a fully controlled environment.

The project is an important step towards the next stage in OHT´s road map, sea trials with a scale 1/3 prototype of the InfinityWEC.