EU approves €19.6m WEDUSEA wave energy project
The European Union has approved the €19.6 million WEDUSEA project. The project is a collaboration of 14 partners from the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, and Spain, and is coordinated by renewable energy developer Ocean Energy. Co-funded by the EU-Horizon Europe Programme and Innovate UK, the project aims to advance the commercialisation of wave energy.
Following approval from the EU’s external experts, WEDUSEA will proceed with designing and constructing a 1MW OE35 floating wave energy converter, to be deployed at the Billia Croo wave energy test site in Orkney, Scotland. Testing at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) will occur over two years, with construction beginning in late 2024 and testing expected by June 2025.
The OE35, touted as the world’s largest floating wave energy device, will generate electricity by harnessing wave pressure to drive trapped underwater air through a turbine, with the power transmitted via subsea cables. Tony Lewis, chief technical officer of Ocean Energy, emphasized that WEDUSEA will demonstrate wave energy’s cost-reduction potential and serve as a stepping stone toward greater industrialisation.
With approximately 30TWh of untapped annual wave energy potential, equivalent to nearly ten times Europe’s electricity consumption, wave energy is considered one of the most valuable renewable resources. As of 2023, global marine energy capacity stood at 508.1MW, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.