DTOceanPlus

Optimal Design Tools for Ocean Energy Arrays
 The FP7 funded DTOcean project produced a first generation of freely available, open-source design tools for wave and tidal energy arrays. These tools have been used on leading tidal and wave energy projects. Built upon this solid foundation, DTOceanPlus 3-year project (1 May 2018 – 30 April 2021) with a total budget of 8 million euros, will be carried out in the continuity of DTOcean. DTOceanPlus will develop and demonstrate a suite of 2nd generation advanced design tools for the selection, development and deployment of ocean energy systems, aligning innovation and development processes with those used in mature engineering sectors:
  • Technology concept selection will be facilitated by a structured innovation design tools (new)
  • Technology development will be enabled by a stage-gate design tool (new)
  • Deployment optimization will be implemented by deployment and assessment design tools (2 new modules, 2nd generation tools with advanced capabilities, new socio-economic assessment functionalities).
The integrated tools will be demonstrated in the setting of real world technology deployment projects, with access to these projects being provided by the project’s industrial and commercial partners. The project will create a set of digital models which will also provide a common language for the entire ocean energy sector.

The University of Edinburgh leads the work packages on Refinement of User Needs and Market Analysis and Implementation Feasibility of Ocean Energy Technologies. The first includes a consultation of user needs and then developing the functional requirement for the DTOceanPlus suite of design tools. The latter is to combine the wealth of knowledge gained during the project along with the data and information gathered from demonstrating the DTOceanPlus suite of tools against real life demonstration scenarios to envisage the future of ocean energy.

​For more information, see project overviews here (DTOceanPlus).
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 785921.