Our Companies

Hammerfest Strom UK Ltd

Hammerfest Strom UK (HSUK) is a tidal water energy technology company. The company’s objective is to be the leading technology provider of turn-key tidal power devices for the commercial market, through a non-exclusive right of use of the parent company’s present and future technology. The parent company, Hammerfest Strom AS (HSAS) is a Norwegian tidal water energy technology company established in 1997. The Company has since its inception been engaged in research and development of state-of-the-art tidal energy technology, and has obtained patents and rights to commercial use by delivering turn-key stream turbines. HSAS has successfully designed, manufactured, assembled and tested a 300KW prototype tidal energy turbine. The technology invented by Hammerfest Strom has received international attention, and it is regarded as one of the leading technologies in its field. The tidal energy device has been extensively tested at 300kW scale in the coastline off northern Norway. The underwater wind turbine technology is the world’s first of its kind and has delivered electricity to the Norwegian transmission grid network for almost four years. The units are mounted on the sea bed and aligned to the tidal flow. The pitching mechanism enables the blades to be angled automatically to maximise energy yield from the ebb and flow of the tidal waters. HSUK has been established in Scotland to develop the tidal energy technology in joint venture with ScottishPower Renewables and other leading industrial companies. HSUK plans to work with Scottish/UK universities, Consultants and industrial partners to design, develop, build, deploy and test a 1MW device on location in Scotland in 2009, thus demonstrating a commercially viable tested product, progressing to commercial deployment in 2010/2011. Each commercial device will generate around 1MW of output. Future arrays of multiple devices are anticipated to generate 50MW to 100MW each. HSUK has been established in Scotland as the tidal waters around Scotland and the UK have a huge potential for energy capture utilising the HSUK device. A major aspect of HSUK’s strategy is to partner with key players in the Scottish/UK academic and industrial base to support design, development, production, assembly, testing, installation and maintenance, thus creating an indigenous industry to meet the challenging clean energy needs of future generations. HSUK will be fully responsible for total project delivery. Emerging global energy shortage will drive increasing demand for renewable energy. There are large unutilised potential in many locations around the world for tidal energy capture. The production of tidal power is emission free and there are no CO2 emission permit costs incurred. The fuel source (the tidal movement) is very stable, providing predictable generation output. From an environmental perspective, tidal power has a low conflict potential and should more easily obtain Project Planning Approval, being invisible, noiseless and removable after end of productive life. Tidal power is a politically strongly encouraged new energy source, with generous support schemes in many countries. It is likely that the continuous technological development will drive down costs and ensure economies of scale, with the benefits associated with mass production. HSUK’s long term objectives is to create a state of the art technologically advanced product that could be exported to other locations worldwide, with similar tidal resources to that of Scotland.