Prior information notice: Design, develop, and demonstrate wave energy converter systems (EuropeWave PCP)

This PIN provides early information about the expected starting date and proposed scope for the EuropeWave PCP, and about the open market consultation that is organised in preparation of this procurement.

The main technical challenges to be addressed within the overarching challenge may be expressed in terms of:

• Performance – obtain quantitative evidence of appropriate power capture and conversion capability and increase confidence in yield predictions from numerical model simulations.
• Reliability & survivability – demonstrate appropriate levels of availability through reliable prototype operation.
• Affordability – increase confidence in the estimation of the technology costs (capital and operational) and the requirements for achieving the SET Plan’s LCOE targets.

The members of the Buyers Group are facing the same common challenge and are thus looking for similar solutions.

The procurement will take the form of a pre-commercial procurement (PCP) under which R&D service contracts will be awarded to a number of R&D providers in parallel in a phased approach. This will make it possible to compare competing alternative solutions.

Each selected operator will be awarded a framework agreement that covers three R&D phases.

The three phases are anticipated as being:

• Concept development
• Detailed design / modelling
• Open-sea deployment and testing programme.

After each phase, intermediate evaluations will be carried out to progressively select the best of the competing solutions. The contractors with the best-value-for-money solutions will be offered a specific contract for the next phase.

The open-sea deployment and testing programme is expected to take place at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Scotland and the Biscay Marine Energy Platform (BiMEP) in the Basque Country.

The R&D service contracts for phase 1 are anticipated as starting in January 2022. The final phase contracts are anticipated as concluding in June 2026.

The contract notice is expected to be published in June 2021 with a deadline for receipt of tenders in September 2021.

The selected operators will retain ownership of the intellectual property rights (IPRs) that they generate during the PCP and will be able to use them to exploit the full market potential of the developed solutions i.e. beyond the procurement.

This procurement receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme, under grant agreement No 883751 — EuropeWave (www.europewave.eu ↗).

The EU has given a grant for this procurement but is not participating as a contracting authority in the procurement.

The open market consultation event will be in the form of a webinar, details of which will be announced using the following communication channels:

• A notice published through the Public Contracts Scotland portal (all operators that have registered an interest in the PIN will be notified automatically);
• Press releases;
• News items published on the EuropeWave project website and the websites of the EuropeWave project partners;
• News items published on and promoted through social media.

Queries may be raised in advance of the open market consultation using the online “Question and Answer” facility on the Public Contracts Scotland portal. The last date to submit a query will be 7 (seven) calendar days prior to the date of the webinar. Further queries may be raised for a period of 7 (seven) calendar days following the webinar.

More information about the open market consultation is provided in the accompanying Additional Information document. Additional information: Additional information is provided in the accompanying document “Additional Information”.