UK-based Global OTEC has installed a floating ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) prototype off the Canary Island in Spain.
The platform is designed to generate electricity by using the temperature difference between warm surface water and cold deep ocean water, a process known as OTEC.
The installation marks the first purpose-built offshore platform of its kind and is intended to address challenges in scaling the technology for island and coastal markets.
OTEC has previously been demonstrated onshore at small scale, but its development has been constrained by the size and length of pipes needed to access seawater. Offshore systems reduce pipe length requirements and enable larger-scale deployment.
The prototype was installed at the Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (PLOCAN), a marine test site off Spain, where engineers will assess system performance and environmental impact.
The project included the deployment and connection of a vertical seawater intake riser, described as one of the most complex elements of offshore OTEC systems.
“This is the moment where OTEC moves away from controlled environments into the real world. Conventional onshore intake systems, while great resources for aquaculture and testing equipment, are low-capacity and expensive.
“Offshore, OTEC can scale in a modular approach that transitions OTEC from being a niche technology to a powerful resource. We now have a new class of standardized and replicable baseload power on a learning curve akin to wind, solar, and batteries,” said Dan Grech, Founder and CEO of Global OTEC.
The prototype forms part of a $4.1 million (€3.5 million) project funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme and led by Global OTEC.
The company said offshore validation is now underway, with plans to deploy an OTEC Power Module in Hawaii as part of further development efforts.
Global OTEC claims the technology could provide continuous baseload power for tropical island nations, where electricity generation is often reliant on fossil fuels.