A pioneering spanish technology has introduced a reliable and efficient system to produce clean energy.
Scientists have been exploring new sources of clean energy in recent years. Tidal energy, an energy source with enormous potential, is predictable, efficient, renewable, and clean. It can capture energy using a much smaller device than what is needed for wind.
Magallanes Renovables designed and manufactured a platform technology named ATIR. The OCEAN_2G project took charge of this initiative. Their goal was to test a tidal energy system prototype with the capacity to generate up to 2 MW. Upon installation, ATIR anchors itself to the seafloor with four anchors—two at the bow and two at the stern—featuring two counter-rotating three-blade rotors beneath the hull. The rotor movement transforms into mechanical energy and then converts into electricity through a generator. The blades incorporate a variable pitch system that allows changing the configuration and pitch of the blade according to the current. A powerful control system manages onboard systems and facilitates remote control and communication with ATIR.
Project partners demonstrated the technology’s viability from a technical, operational, and commercial perspective. They validated the full-scale prototype through various towing tests conducted in a controlled environment in the Vigo estuary (Spain). The European Marine Energy Centre in the Orkney Islands (Scotland) served as the installation and anchoring site for ATIR. The prototype withstood high-speed tidal flows for twelve months without sustaining any damage
