Background

Trident Energy Limited was founded in 2004 by Hugh-Peter Kelly, with a vision to harness the enormous energy contained within ocean waves. His breakthrough idea was to use floats connected to linear generators to convert sea wave energy directly into electricity. He set about filing a number of patents to protect his invention and initiated an extensive R&D program to validate the concept.

The first trials were completed in 2005 supported with grant funding from the Carbon Trust. In 2006 the company’s management team raised third party funding to further develop the technology along with additional grant support from the East of England Development Authority (EEDA). The company has completed a series of extensive wave tank tests at NaREC (New and Renewable Energy Centre) in Blyth, Northumberland.

Research and Development 2004 – 2007

NaREC 1 (2005) – Validating Generator Performance

In April 2004 the company secured funding for a 15 month research and development project. This culminated in a series of wave tank tests at NaREC in July 2005 (NaREC-1), which confirmed the commercial viability of the solution.

NaREC 2 (2006) – Optimisation and Operation in Extreme Wave Conditions

Trident Energy was the first company to generate electricity in the NaREC wave tank and as a result was invited to demonstrate to an international audience at a NaREC open day in February 2006 (NaREC-2). This provided the Company with an opportunity to run additional tests to optimise generator performance and test operation in extreme wave conditions.

NaREC 3 (2007) – Multiple Floats and Buoyant Rig Design

In April 2007 the company commenced an offshore demonstration project. The first stage of the project was to design and test a scale version of its offshore test platform design at NaREC. The tests were successfully completed in July 2007 (NaREC-3) and the company intends to deploy an offshore system during 2010.