“This project collaboration has reimagined the traditional mooring and anchoring process. The consortium has worked intensively for several years taking the UMACK concept from the drawing board, through multiple design, development and test phases, to construction, subsystem testing and now the upcoming open ocean testing towards the end of 2021. The forthcoming open ocean trials mark a tremendously exciting period, and an important stage in a long and rigorous validation process. The project is aiming to demonstrate how improved strategies and reduced downtime afforded by the novel UMACK system can decrease LCOE (Levelised Cost Of Electricity) for a broad range of marine energy platforms.” 

“Mooring solutions continue to present significant challenges across the marine energy industry. The UMACK consortium has joined forces to develop a more efficient and cost-effect solution which can be shared universally, benefiting not only wave and tidal, but extending to other areas such as floating offshore wind. Ternan has specifically been providing geotechnical and anchor design support, with a particular focus on investigating the practical deployment of novel anchor solutions such as screw piles and mesh anchors for offshore structures.”

“The UMACK Project offers ‘world-first’ technology enabling a step change in the deployment of marine energy mooring systems. As a joint-industry initiative, we have pooled our expertise while maintaining a firm focus on streamlining the entire mooring system including Sustainable Marine’s anchoring solutions that are required to drive maximum cost efficiency. The resultant anchoring and mooring technology offers major benefits to the emerging ocean energy market, improving reliability, reducing Levelized Cost Of Energy and accelerating progression towards large scale commercialisation.”

“This wide-reaching collaboration tackles fundamental issues regarding foundation mooring, which can be both costly and time-consuming from the O&M standpoint. It has hampered the progress and development of emerging ocean energy tech such as wave and tidal for some years. The UMACK project aims to demonstrate how improved strategies and reduced downtime afforded by the system will ultimately decrease LCOE and increase energy return on investment.”

“Modelling experts from our Policy and Innovation Group are analysing the economic and environmental impact of the proposed UMACK system. We are using a global economic model containing LCOE and Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) calculations along with data from project partners. In addition to this, we are calculating the Gross Value Added (GVA) potential of the proposed system for Scottish and European supply chains. This deep analysis is helping to indicate how investment in the UMACK system will be reflected in additional economic activity within the engaged industries.”

“The UMACK system offers a truly novel approach to marine energy development aiming to significantly de-risk the overall project and bring best practice to the industry. It is hugely positive to see this form of collaboration between leaders in the marine renewables sphere, while a broader user-group involving additional wave and tidal developers is being afforded full access to the results, ensuring sector-wide impact from the project.”

“We are happy to be able to support UMACK with our experience in offshore foundation and support systems. Together with the Test Centre for Support Structures, we provide the know-how and the infrastructure for testing the geotechnical properties of the mooring system under controlled, offshore-like conditions.”