Pre-Commercial Procurement: Research and Development services for wave energy related technologies

Description

This contract notice invites interested operators to submit tenders for the TurboWave pre-commercial procurement (PCP). Mutriku Wave Power Plant is the first commercial plant in Europe to use wave energy to generate electricity. The wave energy plant is located in the Bay of Biscay, with Oscillating Water Column (OWC) being the technology used for the energy conversion. It has 16 turbines with a total capacity of 296 kW, harnessing air compressed by the action of the waves. The plant started operation in 2011 and has achieved the world-leading mark of 2,7 GWh cumulative output in October 2022. The TurboWave pre-commercial procurement program aims to accelerate the development of air turbine technologies matching the wave energy sector needs in general and the specific requirements of the Mutriku Plant in particular. Lot 1: This procurement takes the form of a pre-commercial procurement (PCP). In a PCP, R&D service contracts are awarded to several R&D service providers in parallel to progressively develop solutions in a phased approach. This allows the procurers to compare several design solutions in a competitive environment. The TurboWave PCP combines the phased approach of the PCP model, a stage-gated industrial development process, and an international evaluation and guidance framework for ocean energy technology. Each selected operator will be awarded a framework agreement that covers up to three R&D phases: - Phase 1: Concept development - Phase 2: Design Refinement and Lab Testing - Phase 3: Detailed design, manufacture and testing in Mutriku Wave Power Plant 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 call-off contract for the next phase, under the framework agreement. Phase 1 is expected to start in April 2023. Phase 2 is expected to start in January 2024. Phase 3 is expected to start on January 2025 and conclude in June 2026. The selected operators will retain ownership of the intellectual and industrial property rights (IIPRs) that they generate during the PCP and will be able to use them to exploit the full market potential of the developed solutions. Section 5.2 of DL1 document provides specific information about the technical and administrative requirements to submit a proposal.