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FEATURE SUBSEA POWER ntegrating offshore renewables into offshore operations energy storage and management. It also means that the has become a major goal for oil and gas companies. company can select an appropriate power source for spe-

A remote power supply could improve project eco- ci?c use cases or particular site characteristics.

I nomics for long step-outs, where they replace long

HALO power cables. Powering facilities from a nearby offshore wind park could help reduce the carbon intensity of oil Its core technology is its Halo energy storage system, and gas production. But how do you balance that power – which includes its Axonn intelligent energy management ride out intermittency – to provide a stable supply to what system. Halo is a modular (scalable), battery-based energy could be critical applications? storage and management system.

It’s a challenge many, from navies to offshore wind It takes in power from a variable or intermittent pro- parks hoping to integrate vessel charging, are mulling and ducer, such as a wave energy converter, and stores it in bat- one Aberdeen, UK, based engineering ?rm Verlume is of- teries – currently lithium ion, as they’re the most reliable fering to solve. and advanced in the market for the scale they’re operating

The company has come a long way since it was founded at, explains Slorach. in 2013. One of its goals then was to develop a tidal ener- Verlume both manufactures its own battery modules gy-based solution that could supply local power to subsea from standard cells and buys third party modules – used infrastructure, removing the need for power umbilicals. for EVs like the Nissan Leaf, as well as trains, buses and Indeed, the company launched its own kW-scale subsea even JCBs – assembling them into packs that then form

Powerhub concept in 2017, comprising three of its own its systems. vertical axis tidal/ocean current turbines, connected to di- A key part of Halo is the Axonn, which ensures reliable, rect drive DC power generators and in turn batteries to stable power to multiple payloads, via software, ?rmware, store power. and hardware. This includes an output management sys- tem, for autonomously managing multiple power outputs.

ENERGY AGNOSTIC

In simple terms, it’s the bridge between intermittent

Today, as focus on transitioning to renewable energy renewable energy production and power users that need has ramped up, Verlume’s sights are much broader. reliable, stable power, says Slorach, whether that’s low

It’s now energy generation agnostic, says Paul Slorach, power over long periods, short duration high power use, or the ?rm’s chief technology of?cer, who has been work- fast-charging of subsea vehicles. In-built into the system is ing with Verlume founder Richard Knox since the ?rm wireless communications for applications where an umbil- started, meaning it’s happy to work with any renewable ical has failed or for communicating with subsea vehicles. energy technology, and it’s also looking a much wider

RENEWABLES FOR SUBSEA range of power users.

Providing power for brown and green?eld subsea pro-

POWER PROJECT duction infrastructure was the initial goal. But before the Two demos are currently imminent. In December, one end of this year (2022), Verlume will be starting dem- of its Halo units will be deployed offshore Orkney, Scot- onstrations involving two different wave energy devices, land, alongside a wave energy converter (WEC), subsea from third parties, working with US defense organizations controls infrastructure, and an underwater vehicle, as part as well as oil and gas operators and service companies in of the Renewables for Subsea Power project. The project

Scotland and Hawaii. The company is also working with is supported by the Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC) wind energy developers, an underwater robotics technol- in Aberdeen, Harbour Energy, Serica, and Mocean Energy ogy developer, and more. (the WEC provider) and Transmark.

It’s all about delivering power. Slorach says there are a This will see wave energy ?rm Mocean Energy’s 20m number of energy sources – including even degraded pow- long, 56-tonne, 10kW rated Blue Star 10 wave machine er umbilicals – but they are largely variable and or inter- coupled with Verlume’s third Halo system to demonstrate mittent, so there needs to be a good way to connect them the ability to work reliably with subsea systems, such as to users that need a constant power supply available. oil and gas wells, carbon capture and storage sites or even

That’s now Verlume’s niche – to be the middleman via subsea vehicles. 34 OFFSHORE ENGINEER OEDIGITAL.COM