The Idea behind the Direct Energy Conversion Method (DECM)

The founder of Trident Energy, Hugh-Peter Kelly, is also the inventor of the Tubular Linear Motor. This is an internationally established product, which was invented by him in the early 1980’s for use in the automation industry – there are over 100,000 motors ⁄ actuators of this type in use world wide.

Hugh-Peter Kelly realised that the motor, in generator mode, could be an ideal power take off for the conversion of sea wave power directly into electricity. A prototype system was originally tested in the Atlantic off the north coast of Devon in the late 1990’s. This initial experiment was immediately successful, generating electricity directly from the sea. The prototype was the first device of its type to prove the concept of electrical generation using this type of energy conversion.

Pre-incorporation R&D – 1998 to 2003

Hugh-Peter Kelly took the results of his initial testing to the Department of Trade and Industry (now the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform) who commissioned a study (1999), undertaken by Durham University, into the effectiveness of using linear generators as an alternative to hydraulics for wave energy capture. The study, during which the generator invented by Hugh-Peter Kelly was introduced to Durham University, came to a positive conclusion and gave the green light to take the concept further.

Prior to incorporation of Trident Energy, Hugh-Peter Kelly filed a number of patents on the technology.

Trident Energy R&D – 2004 to 2007

Trident Energy Ltd was founded in December 2003 to develop a commercial offering for the marine renewables market. 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.

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 and extend the findings of its initial research project.

Following these successful NaREC tests the Company secured additional private equity and a research and development grant from the East of England Development Authority (EEDA) (April 2007) to fund an offshore test project. The first stage of the project was to design and test a scale version of its offshore test platform at NaREC, which was successfully completed July 2007 (NaREC-3). The final stage of the project is to deploy an offshore system during the first quarter of 2009.