The Viana do Castelo operation has played an integral role in the development of CorPower Ocean’s first commercial-scale Wave Energy Converter, soon to be deployed in Aguçadoura as part of the HiWave-5 Project.

Established in 1982, Costa & Rego delivers metal structures and industrial support equipment for many sectors including renewable energy, shipbuilding, automotive, construction, water treatment, ports, fishing and sea transportation.

For CorPower Ocean, the advantage of having suitable materials in stock and offering flexible manufacturing processes to ensure high quality performance combined with very short delivery times, is highly valuable. Direct delivery to CorPower Ocean’s purpose-built manufacturing hall in the Port of Viana, even saw some products arriving at a rapid speed, within a few hours after construction and purchasing

CorPower Ocean Supply Chain & Quality Control Manager Tord Jonsson said: “We rely on a global supply chain for products, materials and services. As such, we have a number of strategic suppliers who are continuously evaluated and rated in six main categories, including quality, responsiveness , cost competitiveness, cost reduction initiatives, lead-times and delivery performance. Over the last 18 months, Costa & Rego have demonstrated outstanding competence across all areas, and we would like to highlight this impressive performance as our Supplier of the Year for 2022. There are many examples where Costa & Rego went above and beyond to support our operations, including on one occasion delivering on-site welding support from midnight to 6am, on just a few hours’ notice. This helped us maintain timeframes for the installation of our novel UMACK anchor system.”

Costa & Rego is recognised as one of the most important local manufacturing companies in northern Portugal, delivering high-quality products nationally and overseas.

André Rego CEO of Costa & Rego said: “We are honoured to receive this accolade from CorPower Ocean, and to be supporting one of the world’s leading wave energy developers. Marine energy is a hugely exciting sector, producing new and innovative technologies to accelerate the future energy transition. Here in Portugal, we are also witnessing firsthand its enormous potential to generate sustainable jobs and wealth creation for coastal communities, for generations to come.”

Mr Jonsson added that CorPower Ocean’s unique mobile factory cell concept allows for high volumes of on-site fabrication, ensuring strong engagement with local supply chains.

“A large share of system components of our WEC systems can be delivered by local supply chains. Driven by a competitive local supply chain, easy communication and efficient logistics for heavy parts” he said. “As demonstrated through our work in Viana do Castelo, and with partners such as Costa & Rego, this delivery concept guarantees high levels of local content, which in turn enables rapid roll-out on a global scale.”