New Technologies Boost Wave Power Potential

This week, Swedish wave energy developer CorPower Ocean was put in charge of $35 million (€30 million) European projectaimed at improving the competitiveness and bankability of wave energy farms, with large-scale validation work planned in UK waters.

CorPower noted research indicating that wave energy, under a high-growth scenario supported by a modernized UK supply chain, could deliver more than $40 billion (£30 billion) in gross value added to the economy and support tens of thousands of jobs.

One of the aims of the project is to demonstrate the survivability, reliability, and performance of wave energy systems. This is a challenge being tackled around the world.

In November, NREL researchers in the US announced the development of a free, open-source tool that combines (or stacks) multiple wave energy modeling capabilities into one user-friendly package.

With SEA-Stack, wave energy companies—or any developers working on water-based tech, like ships, underwater drones, or even space shuttle crew modules—will be able to quickly vet new technology designs and potentially save significant time and money.

Those savings could help accelerate technology development and enable wave energy devices to fulfill their promise: to deliver reliable energy to populated coastal cities, rural and remote communities, or even offshore data centers and military bases.

Back in the UK, researchers from Cardiff University are taking the concept of wave power one step further with the idea of augmenting surface waves on the ocean with underwater sound waves.

Usama Kadri, Reader of Applied Mathematics, Cardiff University, says in an article on The Conversation, that today’s technologies face challenges in efficiency, particularly in deeper waters.

Kadri’s research indicates that underwater sound waves could make surface waves around 30% more powerful and therefore a more viable source of energy.

The concept is still being tested in the lab, but the potential for wave energy is already high. As Kadri says: “Ocean waves have long been seen as having huge potential as a source of renewable energy. Waves produce an estimated 50 trillion to 80 trillion watts of power worldwide – nearly two to three times the world’s current annual energy consumption.”