Breakthrough In Wave Energy Harvesting

WavEC Offshore Renewables and the Swedish technology developer CorPower Ocean are set to make public the test results from a new technology that may revolutionise the wave power sector.

The HiWave project , co-funded by KIC InnoEnergy and the Swedish Energy Agency, makes use of a new type of resonant Wave Energy Converter (WEC) based on the pumping principles of the human heart. Extensive tank testing at Ecole Centrale Nantes, has shown unprecedented efficiency rates in wave energy absorption, delivering five times higher energy density compared with previously developed technology.

“HiWave is a hugely exciting technological breakthrough in the wave power space, and we are thrilled to be supporting and funding such an innovative and state-of-the-art project,” says Diego Pavia, CEO, KIC InnoEnergy. “The implications of this are vast. HiWave has the power to decrease Europe’s energy bill, while significantly reducing our carbon footprint.”

Through a €6 million joint investment, the project consortium has joined forces with researchers from The Royal Institute of Technology of Stockholm and The Norwegian University of Science and Technology targeting half scale ocean deployment in 2016 and full scale demonstration by late 2017. The project aims to establish a new generation of wave power for off-grid and utility-scale energy generation, offering energy at a cost that can compete with conventional non-renewable energy resources.

“Ocean waves are a huge and untapped resource of clean energy. They possess an energy density several times greater than solar and higher predictability compared to wind. Wave power could potentially cover more than 10 per cent of the world’s energy demand. Assuming we can keep the same performance while scaling up the technology through the HiWave pilot we should be in a good position to tap into this market. The oceans offer a truly hostile environment and we still have a lot of work ahead of us, but the efficiency improvement shown with WaveSpring may be just what is needed to make wave power competitive,” says Patrik Möller, CEO, CorPower Ocean.A European sustainable technology consortium made up of the global power company Iberdrola Engineering, the Portuguese marine research centre WavEC Offshore Renewables and the Swedish technology developer CorPower Ocean is set to make public the test results from a new technology that may revolutionise the wave power sector.

The HiWave Project, co-funded by KIC InnoEnergy and the Swedish Energy Agency, makes use of a new type of resonant Wave Energy Converter (WEC) based on the pumping principles of the human heart. Extensive tank testing at Ecole Centrale Nantes, has shown unprecedented efficiency rates in wave energy absorption, delivering five times higher energy density compared with previously developed technology.

“HiWave is a hugely exciting technological breakthrough in the wave power space, and we are thrilled to be supporting and funding such an innovative and state-of-the-art project,” says Diego Pavia, CEO, KIC InnoEnergy. “The implications of this are vast. HiWave has the power to decrease Europe’s energy bill, while significantly reducing our carbon footprint.”

Through a €6 million joint investment, the project consortium has joined forces with researchers from The Royal Institute of Technology of Stockholm and The Norwegian University of Science and Technology targeting half scale ocean deployment in 2016 and full scale demonstration by late 2017. The project aims to establish a new generation of wave power for off-grid and utility-scale energy generation, offering energy at a cost that can compete with conventional non-renewable energy resources.

“Ocean waves are a huge and untapped resource of clean energy. They possess an energy density several times greater than solar and higher predictability compared to wind. Wave power could potentially cover more than 10 per cent of the world’s energy demand. Assuming we can keep the same performance while scaling up the technology through the HiWave pilot we should be in a good position to tap into this market. The oceans offer a truly hostile environment and we still have a lot of work ahead of us, but the efficiency improvement shown with WaveSpring may be just what is needed to make wave power competitive,” says Patrik Möller, CEO, CorPower Ocean.