The NHP-WEC project aims to advance data-driven monitoring and control in connection to both device technology and sea state predictions for WEC arrays. The research proposed is simultaneously generic while also significantly contributing to the development of an existing concept device that has shown potential, namely the multi-axis TALOS that has been developed and tank tested at Lancaster University (LU). TALOS is a novel multi-axis point absorber-style built as a 1/100th scale representation, with a solid outer hull containing all the moving parts (like a submarine or a PS Frog style WEC device). The internal PTO system is made up of an inertial mass with hydraulic cylinders that attach it to the hull. The mass makes up a significant proportion of the device, hence it moves around as the hull is pushed by various wave motions. The motion of the ball moves hydraulic cylinders causing them to pump hydraulic fluid through a circuit. The flow of this hydraulic fluid is used to turn a hydraulic motor, which is coupled to an electrical generator, to generate electricity i.e. an inertial mass PTO approach. Key strengths include: The arrangement of the rams allows for the mass ball to move in multiple directions, allowing energy to be captured from multiple degrees of freedom. The flow of hydraulic fluid will change as the ball's motion changes, so an internal hydraulic smoothing circuit is utilised to regulate the output. The latest design has proven to be successful in wave tank testing and the PTO system yields a smooth output in response to time-varying inputs from waves. An analytical model has also been developed to combine data from the hull model and hydraulic rig, yielding a predicted power output of up to 3.2 kW. However, TALOS is at a very early stage of development and requires further research to advance its Technology Readiness Level (TRL). The design, development, deployment and operation of WECs, such as TALOS and their potential commercial use requires a holistic understanding of the marine environment, including on-line monitoring to enhance control combined with prediction. Potential WEC deployment sites and energy resource from single devices and arrays must be determined. Operational conditions, including wave characteristics must be quantified to estimate dynamic loads on WEC, constraining manufacturing and their real-time operation. In this context, SmartWave, developed by the UoH, with the ORE Catapult and Orsted, is a tool capable of deriving high resolution sea state conditions from satellite images using machine learning. Key strengths: SmartWave is based on a novel forecasting methodology, capable of resolving sea state within offshore windfarms for sector O&M logistics. It integrates recent advances in all-weather satellite monitoring to map and study the temporal and spatial distribution of sea surface wave characteristics. However, existing limitations must be addressed to advance the TRL of WEC capabilities and hence fully exploit this new technology. For example, it has been developed to characterize significant wave height, whilst further research is essential in order to extract other sea state parameters, including wave height, direction and frequency. Nonetheless, since it is capable of global reach remotely, without the use of in situ sensors, SmartWave is uniquely placed to identify the selection of appropriate deployment sites depending on the device size and specification, for optimal production of electricity. The NHP-WEC project brings together key aspects of WEC technology and the global deployment potential of SmartWave, allowing integration of novel methodologies across optimisation, control, condition monitoring and resource forecasting. These advances will together drive evidenced reductions in costs and hence provide confidence on the benefits of wave energy technology to developers and investors.

Natural flows shape our environment. Virtually every part of the planet can be put in the context, or at the interface, of transdisciplinary processes shaped by fluid dynamics, from: mantle convection, driving tectonic plate movement and geohazards; energy sources driving ocean currents and mixing, controlling marine life; the dispersal of water, nutrients and pollutants through terrestrial systems, critical to life on land; to the risks from extreme weather, in a changing climate. Although, numerical models exist that capture many aspects of these flows, they are fundamentally limited by the complexity, and critically, the range of scales present in the natural environment. Thus, lack of understanding of the natural world often stems from lack of empirical data of environmental flows. Empirical data are key to motivate new understanding of fluid dynamics and thus the natural environment. Data are often derived from controlled experiments, studying fundamental processes. Yet, to deliver impact, these processes need to be placed in real-world context. Three-dimensional, and temporal, data are key to understand complex flows inherent to nature. Yet whilst common in numerical models, such data are rare in current empirical research. Our capability to quantify the dynamics of environmental flows is in many respects more limited than numerical models. Only now has recent advances in technology placed the ability to address long-standing limitations of empirical data of environmental flows within our grasp. The Future of Advanced Metrology for Environmental fluid dynamics (FAME) project makes a world-leading contribution to research capability, by: 1) advancing globally unique capacity to collect complete empirical datasets of environmental flows; 2) scaling experimental fluid dynamics to the real-world. Synergistic integration of a suite of novel equipment, based on novel volumetric flow measurement, addresses these goals and supports step-change advances across natural environmental science. Leading experts at Hull, extensively supported by academia and industry, will integrate the suite of new equipment, including: Advanced optical flow measurement equipment that can disentangle the dynamics of the different fluid, particulate and chemical components that comprise natural flows; Submersible optical measurement equipment that translates capability to resolve flows, previously only available in laboratory conditions, to real-world scales; and Acoustic imaging of naturally cloudy environmental flows, where optical techniques cannot be used. Through integration of this suite of equipment, FAME affords globally unique capability to resolve flows across a range of environments and scales, providing new data needed for research into key societal challenges. By enabling access to both equipment, and critically the unique datasets that will be generated, FAME will motivate the next generation of community research into the natural environment.