Turnkey wind, wave, tidal and solar power solutions from Centa Transmissions

Global warming, climate change, sustainability and soaring energy costs are very much front-of-mind and Yorkshire transmissions manufacturer, Centa Transmissions, is already creating opportunities in this important and fast-growing market.

The company is presently working with various scientific, marine, manufacturing and university partners in the UK, western Europe and Scandinavia, producing systems that generate electricity from the natural power of the sea. This production of energy from the tides is one of Centa’s active projects and just one element of their Tidal and Wave Portfolio.

Centa applications have helped to create an underwater tidal power generation plant that combines many of their products in its design. Planetary gearboxes, Cyclo precision gears and special bevel gearboxes combine with electro-magnetic clutches, electrically insulating CENTALINK shafts, powerful SIBRE disc brakes, specially designed ‘Centa Freewheels’ and electromagnetic clutches, to create a truly bespoke solution. Centa’s strength is in he integration of innovative, high performance products that, says Centa’s gears division manager, Michael Sykes, “Means that, essentially, we start with the required design and then integrate the most suitable Centa products until we arrive at the optimum solution”. The Freewheels are a new Centa innovation that stop the plant from reversing its rotation as the tides change direction and all this innovative technology is translated from several thousand successful wind turbine applications.