Wet-mate Connector

• Development of a low cost high voltage generic Wet-mate connector, fully tested and commercially available
• Reduces device and array deployment and retrieval times
• Reduced cost of maintenance as connections could be made in a much shorter timeframe

We invested £1.1m in a project with MacArtney to design, develop, assemble and test a low-cost high voltage generic Wet-mate connector and stab-plate mechanism - specifically designed for the offshore renewables sector.

Wet-mate connectors link offshore energy sources to the cables transmitting the electricity to shore. They can also interconnect multiple devices within arrays offshore. Their major benefit is their ability to significantly reduce device and array deployment and retrieval times. This leads to substantial offshore vessel hire cost savings.

This project directly addressed a major challenge that was constraining the development of the marine energy sector. At the time there was a clear industry need, funding from individual wave and tidal developers was not available at the required levels and existing deep-water connectors are too expensive for these applications.

This Wet-mate connector eliminates the need to bring cables to the surface by enabling the safe under water connection and disconnection of subsea cables. This reduces the installation time,reducing the size of vessels required for cable management which is of direct value to wave energy converters, tidal energy converters and floating wind turbines. Connections can be made in a much shorter timeframe and they can be operated in waters with limited time windows. This is particularly important for renewable energy devices where changing tides or wave actions associated with marine renewable deployments limit on station maintenance periods.

The Wet-mate connector is commercially available through MacArtney.