rethink sustainability
Harnessing the power of the sea: is wave energy the world’s biggest untapped source of renewable power?
The first wave energy converter was patented by French inventor Pierre-Simon Girard in 1799. Conceptually, the device was simple. A raft floating out at sea, attached to cables and pulleys on shore; as the waves moved the raft, the raft pulled the cables, producing kinetic energy that could be deployed as needed.1
Girard’s invention never saw the light of day, however, and for more than two centuries wave power stayed largely untapped. Now, though, innovations are leading to more resilient and efficient wave energy converters that could be putting the industry on the cusp of large-scale commercialisation.
What is wave energy?
Today’s wave energy converters are many and varied, but all follow the same basic principle – turning the natural movement of the sea into mechanical movement, most often to power electricity-generating turbines. The most widespread design stays close to Girard’s patent, using the rise and fall of a buoy to pull cables or move hydraulic arms.2 Other systems stay permanently below the surface, deploying large ‘wings’ that swing back and forth as waves pass.3
Waves have the highest energy density of any renewable power source.4 It is estimated that ‘wave farms’ can achieve triple the energy yield per square kilometre of floating offshore wind.5 Waves are also relatively predictable and easily forecastable6 compared with the sun and wind. Wave energy is available 90% of the time, compared with 20-30% of the time for wind and solar.7
Computing power meets wave power
Recent years have seen a host of commercial-scale pilot projects. In February 2024, Swedish firm CorPower Ocean successfully completed a test of its C4 wave energy converter in the seas off northern Portugal.8 The system is comprised of a series of buoys, and as they bob up and down on the waves they pump mechanical rods within the buoy and create rotational motion that in turn generates electricity. By using ‘digital twin’ technology to model and synchronise with incoming waves, the C4 aims to gain maximum yield during normal conditions. This technology also helps protect the C4 from damage during storms.9
Harnessing surface motion is not the only way wave power can work; a submersible wave energy converter from California-based CalWave has found success during a pilot off the coast of San Diego. An onboard controller on the ‘x1’ converter enables both remote operation and full autonomy. It also allows the x1 to self-orient to achieve maximum yield. During a 10-month pilot period, it operated autonomously 80% of the time, survived two severe storms and achieved ‘system uptime’ of 99%.10 It also has the advantage of having no visual impact on the environment.
As computing and artificial intelligence become still more sophisticated, designers will gain greater ability to design lighter, less material-intensive autonomous devices that can anticipate and avoid storms, rather than having to weather them.
Read also: How can AI speed up the decarbonisation of business?
Wave energy’s global potential
For CalWave, CorPower and their growing number of peers, the potential prize to be had from wave energy is vast. Research suggests that we could generate almost 30,000 terrawatt hours of electricity per year from waves11, which is around 20% more than the world’s total electricity consumption12.
Investment in alternative energy sources often rises during times of geopolitical conflict, when oil or gas output are threatened and prices rise. Today, as conflicts continue in Ukraine and the Middle East and geopolitical tensions grow, wave energy converters offer an option for governments seeking both zero-carbon electricity and domestic energy security.
The EU has been quick to grasp the potential. European firms hold 44% of all wave energy patents,13 and the EU aims to install at least 40 gigawatts of ocean energy capacity by 205014, enough to meet the electricity demand of all the homes in France15. However, this would still be just a small fraction of the bloc’s total installed capacity, which stands at around 1,000 gigawatts.16
Wave power weighs the cost
The electricity generated by wave converters has, so far, been expensive. Average generation costs over the lifetime of a project17 are around 10-30 times higher than for wind and solar installations18. This is normal for a niche technology. If wave energy expands and the technology is able to mature rapidly, the cost falls could mirror those seen with wind and solar energy when they became more widespread19; the EU Joint Research Centre estimates it could become just twice as expensive as wind and solar within the next six years20. However, this is far from a foregone conclusion given that no commercial-scale wave energy farms are yet in full operation.21
Breakthroughs have been talked about for at least a decade22, but expectations have often been swept away on the currents of high costs23. A rising tide of government support offers hopes that this could change: the US Inflation Reduction Act contains contains tax credits for marine energy projects24; the EU’s Innovation Fund is providing financial support to two ocean energy developments25. Government-backed prizes26 are also promoting innovation in the sector (CalWave is one of the beneficiaries of the US’s Wave Energy Prize27), while the EuropeWave R&D programme aims to help promising designs get to the point where they can become commercially viable28.
Does wave energy impact marine life?
It’s not just economic costs have created concerns around wave energy. Salty seawater can be highly corrosive, creating complications in the design, manufacturing and installation phases.29 Environmental costs are a potential issue too. Researchers have regularly monitored areas using wave power for seabed disturbance, noise pollution, and the risk of entanglement for marine life. Another worry is the creation of electromagnetic fields around underwater cabling30, which could hamper the navigation of species such as sharks, lobsters, dolphins and marine turtles.
Read also: Electric - unexpected profit pools as our economy transitions
However, there is no evidence of wave energy installations harming marine life31, and researchers say the threat is minimal.32 The technology has even been shown to have some surprising benefits; it can form artificial reefs that create new habitats for marine life and boost local biodiversity, according to ETIP Ocean, the European Technology & Innovation Platform for Ocean Energy. Sunken objects of all sorts have been seen to attract underwater species, by creating a focal point in an otherwise empty environment33.
Shipwrecks regularly become habitats for fish, plants and corals34; the foundations of offshore wind farms have also been seen to result in a “marine reserve effect”, with the protection from industrial-scale fishing they provide helping boost fish stocks and increase fishing catches outside the project area.35
Wave power in the mix
Widespread droughts in 2023 led to a drastic fall in hydroelectric generation. Some hydropower-dependent nations turned to fossil fuels to make up the loss, and global energy-related emissions rose to a record high.36 Over the long term though, other renewables look set to squeeze out fossil fuels. Global renewable energy capacity saw a record increase in 2023, with the economics proving more attractive than higher-carbon alternatives.37 China added as much solar capacity last year as the entire world achieved in 2022.
At Lombard Odier, we believe that the era of fossil fuels is drawing to a close. Between now and 2050, we will transition from 20% economy-wide electrification to 70%. This will be driven by the adoption of more efficient technologies such as heat pumps and electric vehicles. In the process we will move from today’s extractive economic model to a regenerative, net-zero model. For investors this represents one of the greatest opportunities in the history of capitalism.
Our oceans could help usher in this sea change. The EU says wave power could provide up to 10% of its energy by 2050, cutting the need for back-up fossil fuel generation.38 Across the world, the growth of wave and tidal stream energy could create 680,000 jobs and add USD 340 billion of value to the global economy, the International Energy Agency estimates.39
Read also: Building the economy of tomorrow
Pierre-Simon Girard’s vision of free wave energy was unrealised in his lifetime. Two and a quarter centuries later, we could be on the verge of making much more of the enormous power of our seas. “Wave energy is the single largest unused renewable energy source on the planet,”40 the European Commission says. As we grapple with the need to decarbonise our power systems, the world’s oceans could soon become a key ally.
1 US20120032444A1 - Wave Catcher - Google Patents
2 FEATURE: 5 wave energy converter designs – and why wind power could be the key to their success (imeche.org)
3 A bio-inspired foldable-wing wave energy converter for ocean robots - ScienceDirect
4 Wave energy: can ocean power solve the global energy crisis? | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
5 Wave energy demonstrates mainstream potential | Offshore (offshore-mag.com)
6 The Pros and Cons of Wave Energy | Earth.Org
7 New clean energy tech extracts twice the power from ocean waves (techxplore.com)
8 OES | WAVE ENERGY DEVELOPMENTS HIGHLIGHTS 2023 (ocean-energy-systems.org)
9 CorPower Ocean announces wave energy breakthrough
10 CalWave successfully concludes historic wave energy pilot in California with zero intervention and 99% uptime – CalWave
11 Wave energy: ‘flexible’ energy mix needed for renewable future (economist.com)
12 Global electricity consumption 2022 | Statista
13 Unlocking the potential of Ocean Energy: from megawatts to gigawatts - Energy Post
14 WaveFarm unleashes a wave of energy for a sustainable future - European Commission (europa.eu)
15 France: number of homes 2008-2023 | Statista
16 Electricity and heat statistics - Statistics Explained (europa.eu)
17 Unlocking the potential of Ocean Energy: from megawatts to gigawatts - Energy Post
18 Levelised cost of energy by technology, World (ourworldindata.org)
19 The Falling Cost of Solar Energy: Reasons and Implications - SolarFeeds Magazine
20 The Falling Cost of Solar Energy: Reasons and Implications - SolarFeeds Magazine
21 A review of wave energy technology from a research and commercial perspective - Guo - 2021 - IET Renewable Power Generation - Wiley Online Library
22 Is Wave Energy Ready to Climb Out of the 'Valley of Death'? | Greentech Media
23 Wave of The Future | UNFCCC
24 Inflation Reduction Act Tax Credit Opportunities for Hydropower and Marine Energy | Department of Energy
25 EU Innovation Fund Backs Two Major Ocean Energy Projects as Part of €3.6B Clean Tech Investment | Environmental Policy | News (ecomagazine.com)
26 Power at Sea Prize | American-Made Challenges (americanmadechallenges.org)
27 CalWave Receives U.S. Department of Energy Funding to Advance xWave™ Technology – CalWave
28 EuropeWave: driving wave energy innovation - European Commission (europa.eu)
29 5 Complications for Tidal and Wave Energy Devices (pmiind.com)
30 A modelling evaluation of electromagnetic fields emitted by buried subsea power cables and encountered by marine animals: Considerations for marine renewable energy development - ScienceDirect
31 ETIP-Ocean-Ocean-energy-and-the-environment.pdf (oceanenergy-europe.eu)
32 Marine energy devices ‘pose minimal impacts to marine life’ - reNews - Renewable Energy News
33 Can a wave energy park work as an artificial reef? — SEABASED
34 Shipwrecks as habitats in your national marine sanctuaries| Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (noaa.gov)
35 ETIP-Ocean-Ocean-energy-and-the-environment.pdf (oceanenergy-europe.eu)
36 Global energy-related CO2 emissions hit record high in 2023 - IEA | Reuters
37 Executive summary – Renewables 2023 – Analysis - IEA
38 WaveFarm unleashes a wave of energy for a sustainable future - European Commission (europa.eu)
39 OES | Ocean Energy and Net Zero: An International Roadmap to Develop 300GW of Ocean Energy by 2050 (ocean-energy-systems.org)
40 WaveFarm unleashes a wave of energy for a sustainable future - European Commission (europa.eu)
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