The expertise of leading polymer component manufacturer Icon Polymer is being used to help to develop alternative power generation schemes in the seas around the UK.

 

The company’s ability to develop new components for high performance, safety-critical applications has led to the creation of new products for wave-power generation schemes which are currently under development.

 

Director of sales John Greaves said: “There are major tidal currents around the UK and more companies are looking at harnessing these for power generation. Our experience of supplying the hydro power industry, as well as wind generation schemes, has helped us to develop new products for tidal schemes.

 

“We are currently working with six manufacturers to develop innovative products for the electricity generators. These range from simple seals to components used in the actual power generation and they all have to be both high-performance and durable – replacing components when the scheme is in place is both costly and time-consuming.”

 

Harnessing wave power is a challenging project and a number of ideas are being trialled, including underwater turbines and wave energy converters. The UK’s first wave energy project off the South West Coast aims to send power back to the mainland by 2010. The scheme, 10 miles off Hayle in Cornwall, will be the UK's first offshore facility for demonstrating a commercial-scale wave power plant but other trials are under way in Suffolk and Wales and around Scotland’s coast, including the Pentland Firth.

 

 

For further information, please contact John Greaves, Director of Sales, Icon Polymer Group, on 01777 714300 or Sara Lamper at Sara Lamper PR on 01423 701147.