Abstract
The absence of reliable, high-performance affordable turbine-blades is an obstacle to the commercialisation of tidal-stream energy. This paper describes a novel, but commercially proven, manufacturing process for composites that can address this challenge and discusses the merits and limitations of the resulting blades. The process uses a ceramic, heated mould to process epoxy powder and glass fibre into blades and offers advantages over alternative techniques. The paper also outlines a sensor system for blades that reduces maintenance costs and increases reliability. Together, these technologies are set to play an important role in creating a new European industry – the production of tidal stream turbines. The research is being funded through the Smart Efficient Affordable Marine Energy Technology Exploitation using Composites (SEAMETEC) project, within Horizon 2020 SME Instrument framework.