EIGHT pioneering projects have been shortlisted to do battle in the 2010 Energy Innovation Awards, organised by the East of England Energy Group (EEEGR).

EIGHT pioneering projects have been shortlisted to do battle in the 2010 Energy Innovation Awards, organised by the East of England Energy Group (EEEGR).

The projects, which offer potential solutions to a variety of technical and operational challenges facing the region's diverse energy sector, will be judged at an all-day event in Norwich on Wednesday, February 24, with the winner to be announced at a gala dinner the same evening.

Among the finalists are three from Suffolk and Essex: 4COffshore of Lowestoft, Neftemer of Woodbridge and Global Marine Systems of Chelmsford.

4COffshore is nominated for its global offshore wind information system, a web-based facility providing users with a comprehensive up-to-date insight into the industry.

It includes an interactive map and a database showing locations and details of more than 500 projects including the wind farm's design, the local environment and the key companies involved.

Neftemer is nominated for its plans for an “advanced slug detector”, involving new instrumentation and software designed to predict and control so-called “slugs”, mixtures of oil and gas which build up in the pipelines of older oil wells.

These create large pressure fluctuations along the line which can restrict the flow of oil, resulting in reduced production levels and potential safety hazards.

With slug-related losses estimated as �6billion a year, and current mitigation measures themselves slowing production, the system potentially offers a highly cost-effective solution.

Global Marine Systems is nominated for a Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) for wind farm installations.

Global Marine specialises in power cabling and, in collaboration with design company Cetrax UK, has developed a small but powerful ROV specifically designed to operate in the harsh working environment associated with offshore wind projects. It is equipped with cameras, LED lighting and sonar to cope with limited visbility and is strong and powerful enough to operate in high currents.

The other finalists are Algae-Tech (UK) Ltd of Great Yarmouth; C-MAC MicroTechnology, Great Yarmouth; Oilennium Ltd, Loddon: T D Williamson (UK) Ltd, Swindon; and Redwood Power Systems Ltd, Norwich.