Spanish tidal-energy developer Magallanes Renovables has secured more funding from the Horizon 2020-funded MaRINET2 programme to extend the period of testing of its second-generation 2MW tidal platform — ATIR — at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney.

The company has been testing the technology at EMEC since 2018, as part of the Ocean_2G project, and the ATIR fed electricity into the UK grid for the first time in 2019 (www.magallanesrenovables.com).

This has allowed Magallanes to demonstrate the operational performance of its device and brings tidal energy generation a step closer to commercialisation.

Ocean_2G was funded by the Fast Track to Innovation pilot scheme, and the project was led by SAGRES, which is the parent company of Magallanes Renovables.

The Ocean_2G project consortium includes EMEC, Leask Marine and electrical specialist IM FutuRe.

EMEC’s managing director, Neil Kermode (www.emec.org.uk), said: “We are delighted with the progress that Magallanes is making, and we look forward to further collaboration to develop and demonstrate its pioneering tidal technology here at EMEC.”

Alejandro Marques de Magallanes, CEO, said: “We learnt something new each day in the Ocean_2G project, and thanks to the support of the EU, EMEC, Leask Marine and IM Future, we are closer to having a robust, reliable and efficient tidal technology.

“The Ocean_2G project has allowed us to demonstrate that we can produce blue, renewable, predictive and competitive energy with our unique technology.”