MEGA-PTO is an EU flagship project, one of only two funded in the EU Wave PTO Call, involving 12 partners, all world-leading in their own areas of expertise, including 3 wave device developers, Mocean Energy, CETO and PureMarine. This is one of two PhDs providing an excellent opportunity to collaborate with EU partners from both academia and industry, developing simulation and design tools for prototype manufacture and testing. The PhDs will contribute to the advancement of the MEGA-PTO technology being developed by Edinburgh spin-out CGEN Engineering for commercialisation beyond the end of the project.

Background

Harnessing the power of ocean waves requires innovative and reliable technologies that can withstand the harsh marine environment while ensuring consistent energy generation. Moreover, the pursuit of sustainable energy production extends beyond emissions reduction, to embrace circular economies. Circular economies advocate for a holistic approach where resources are continually reused, repurposed, and recycled, thus minimising waste and maximising resource efficiency. For the wave energy sector, this means not only developing efficient power take-off systems but also considering the lifecycle impacts of materials, manufacturing, installation, operation, and decommissioning. The MEGA PTO Wave project aims to provide an enabling technology to transform ocean waves into clean, reliable energy. Through this project, a smart, scalable system will be created that adapts to changing conditions and keeps working even if a part of the system experiences a fault. By designing all aspects of the MEGA PTO to be highly modular, incorporating novel axial flux magnetic gear, electrical generator technology and adaptable power electronics, the project will make energy production more efficient and eco-friendly. This modularity creates a system that is easier to manufacture, transport, install, maintain, remove and recycle, than alternatives. The MEGA PTO Wave project brings together expertise from all over the EU to create a PTO linked to sustainable supply chains, to accelerate wave energy commercialisation to capture vast amounts of predictable energy in a sustainable and cost-effective manner, in order to meet EU NetZero targets by 2050.

The main objective of this PhD is to develop control strategies for wave devices using an integrated axial flux permanent magnet generator with a magnetic gear. An electro-mechanical wave-to-wire model will be developed, and used with two Italian partners Cheros Engineering and Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna of Pisa (SSSA), to investigate control strategies of devices produced by the following wave energy developers, Mocean Energy (UK), Pure Marine (Ireland) and CETO Wave (Ireland), all partners in the project. The model will also be used for LCOE and LCA analysis in collaboration with WavEC in Portugal. Two prototype systems, a small-scale device to be tested in Edinburgh, and a 100kW system tested at RWTH Aachen in Germany to validate designs and control strategies. You will have the opportunity to collaborate with all partners and be involved in all aspects of the test programme.

Please note that this position will close once a suitable applicant has been found. Early application is encouraged.