Bodycote is targeting the marine renewables sector after securing work with Sweden’s CorPower Ocean. The U.K.-based provider of heat-treatment and thermal-processing services helped CorPower optimize key components in its Wave Energy Converters (WECs). CorPower’s high-efficiency WECs, inspired by the pumping principles of the human heart, offer five times more energy per ton of device compared to previously known technologies, according to the manufacturer. Incorporating a series of features to boost storm survivability and power capture, WECs benefit from thermochemical treatment to protect against the harshest marine conditions.

According to CorPower, it has worked with Bodycote at a number of plant locations across Sweden to develop mechanical components for WECs using Corr-I-Dur. This thermochemical treatment simultaneously improves corrosion resistance and wear properties by generating an iron nitride-oxide compound layer. Durability and robustness are of paramount importance in the wave-energy sector, and effective protection of devices in the hostile ocean environment has always presented a major challenge. According to Bodycote, CorPower was able to design mechanical components such as pistons, guides and linkages that are suitable for the world’s harshest environments for metal by using Corr-I-Dur.

CorPower Ocean aims to harness the natural power of the oceans to help tackle climate change and achieve a sustainable low-carbon future.