Innovative coastal technologies are advancing marine energy, with wave farms designed to generate electricity and support desalination and green hydrogen projects.
Innovative designs to capture marine energy
The European Union has set ambitious targets for offshore renewables beyond wind power. It aims to install at least 1 GW of marine energy capacity by 2030 and 40 GW by 2050, a level that could meet the electricity needs of 40 million European households. To achieve these goals, no single technology is prioritised, and solutions range from floating solar to tidal and wave power systems.
One proposal for capturing marine energy along coastlines comes from AW-Energy, which has developed a new device known as WaveRoller. The patented wave energy converter is designed to operate in coastal zones, around 0.3 to 2 kilometres from shore, at depths between 8 and 20 metres.
WaveRoller moves towards industrial-scale production
The system works through a large panel that moves back and forth with wave motion. Hydraulic piston pumps connected to the panel push hydraulic fluids into a closed circuit. The high-pressure fluids are then directed into an energy storage and smoothing system, which connects to a hydraulic motor that drives an electrical generator.
The first test took place in 1999 off the coast of the Porkkala peninsula in the Gulf of Finland. More than two decades later, the device has been improved and optimised, and it has received European funding to move into the industrial phase.
With support from the EU WaveFarm project, the company adapted the WaveRoller unit and related processes for serial production and for the installation of multiple units within a single plant, a so-called wave farm composed of 10 to 24 machines.
The product portfolio has also expanded to include devices of different scales, from the smaller WaveRoller-X to the larger WaveRoller-C1 and C2. A single WaveRoller unit currently has a rated power between 350 kW and 1 MW, with a capacity factor ranging from 25% to 50% depending on wave conditions at the project site.
Marine energy and green hydrogen applications
According to Matthew Pech, CFO of AW-Energy, WaveRoller can “provide electricity closer to baseload compared to other renewable sources and keep Europe at the forefront of innovative renewable technologies”.
The technology has attracted interest beyond Europe. In 2023, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Kaoko Green Energy Solutions in Namibia. The goal is to use WaveRoller technology in desalination and green hydrogen production projects.
For African coastal countries, particularly in regions such as Southern Africa and along the Atlantic and Indian Ocean shorelines, marine energy could complement solar and wind power.
Also read: “Africa’s geothermal boom set to outpace Europe by 2030”
