The "world’s first" rapid testing facility for tidal turbine blades, which researchers say can speed up development of marine energy technologies while helping to reduce costs, has opened in Scotland.
FastBlade’s pioneering technology will stress test blades made from composite materials – which must withstand harsh ocean conditions for 20 years – more quickly, and using significantly less energy than any other facility of its kind, the team says.
Based in Rosyth, Fife, the £4.6 million facility aims to maintain Scotland’s position at the forefront of tidal energy development.
FastBlade is a partnership between the University of Edinburgh and engineering company Babcock International and supported by a £1.8 million grant from the UK Government, via the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
The facility’s 75-tonne reaction frame is capable of exerting powerful forces on turbine blades more than 50 feet long. Tests on blades are carried out using a system of powerful hydraulic cylinders, which, in less than three months, can simulate the stresses placed on the structures during two decades at sea.
It replicates the complex forces to which tidal turbines are exposed at sea using unique digital and hydraulic technology systems developed by engineers at the University of Edinburgh.
The facility, funded by EPSRC and the University of Edinburgh, has received support from Edinburgh Innovations, the University’s commercialisation service, throughout its development.
Professor Conchúr Ó Brádaigh, head of School of Engineering at the University of Edinburgh, said: “FastBlade will be the world’s first dedicated fatigue test facility for tidal turbine blades, and will help this emerging industry provide clean, reliable renewable energy at a reasonable cost to consumers.”
Neil Young, engineering director for Babcock, added: "Collaborations like this are fundamental to help us and the wider engineering industry create more research opportunities and secure longer-term investment into digital and data skills – an area that is significantly growing in demand for Babcock and our customers.”
Buyer sought for stricken major Aberdeen development site
A PRIME development site in Aberdeen which went into administration at the end of last year has been brought to the market.
The Countesswells scheme was established to deliver 3,100 homes at a significant new community to the west of Aberdeen, offering good access to the city centre, Westill and Kingswells.
Technology firm creates new jobs in Scotland
LONDON-headquartered KultraLab is opening a new "product hub" in Edinburgh in a move that will double its workforce with the creation of 25 jobs.
The company, which uses behavioural science and artificial intelligence (AI) to help businesses build better workforces, has received more than £2 million of investment from Scottish investment syndicate Kelvin Capital and Scottish Enterprise to support the new development.
Sign up: You can get the briefing and the top business news stories sent direct to your email inbox twice-daily, and Business Week for the weekly round-up on Sunday 👇
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here