The National University of Ireland (NUIM) and a wave energy firm in Scotland are to receive an €800,000 EU Horizon 2020 grant.

The grant is to be used to improve the performance of Aquamarine Power's Oyster wave energy converter.

The new Brussels-backed programme, INNOWAVE, will enable three PhD researchers to explore ways to optimise the energy capture and economic performance of Oyster. As part of the three-year programme, each researcher will divide their time between Aquamarine Power and NUIM's Centre for Ocean Energy Research in County Kildare, west of Dublin.

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Aquamarine Power Chief Executive Officer, Paddy O'Kane, said: "Aquamarine Power's aim is to become the world's leading supplier of utility-scale wave farm power stations.

"With the survivability and performance potential of our Oyster wave technology now largely proven following four years of continuous deployment at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney we are significantly advanced towards that goal.

"This collaboration with NUIM will now help us focus on driving down costs and further improving performance."

(CD/JP)