Due to the EU loan of €10 million from the new InnovFin Demo Project Facility, it will be enabled a project which contains the importance of conversion of wave energy into electrical power, which could be a major step forward in the quest to find new sources of sustainable energy.
The Finnish company AW-Energy will build a full-scale demonstration unit of their WaveRoller concept in Portugal. Additionally, the loan, provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and backed by the EU’s research and innovation funding programme Horizon 2020, is the first under the InnovFin Energy Demo Project, an innovative, sectoral debt facility which aims to support projects that are commercially promising, but are deemed technologically risky.
EU Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, said: “An investment in renewable energy technologies is an investment in Europe’s leadership of these new industries. We want to support renewable energy pioneers to contribute solutions to global climate change challenges, while generating employment and sustainable economic growth at home in Europe.”
Commissioner Moedas, EIB Vice President Jan Vapaavuori and CEO of AW-Energy John Liljelundwill sign the loan agreement this afternoon in Brussels. The signing ceremony will take place in the Berlaymont building.
The WaveRoller technology, already supported with EU funding in the SURGE project under the Seventh Framework Programme, the predecessor of Horizon 2020, aims at bridging the gap between a demonstration installation and commercial deployment of a near-shore Oscillating Wave Surge Converter (OWSC) device that converts wave energy into electrical power. AW-Energy has been operating three 100kW prototype units connected to the grid near Peniche in Portugal since 2012. With the support of the new loan of €10 million, it plans to install a full-scale 350kW demonstration device in the same area in 2016. The total project cost is €19 million.
Several innovative ocean energy technologies are being developed but they face obstacles on the way to the market, because of concerns that they may fail to become competitive. The Oscillating Wave Surge Converter, to be demonstrated under the WaveRoller project, shows promising potential. The global market potential for this kind of application is high, estimated at over 200 GW based on feasible sites identified around the world. The project, which spans a five year period, has already stimulated commercial interest in six countries. Collectively, they aim to sell over 50 units in the first four years of operation.
AW-Energy Ltd is a Finnish company developing the patented WaveRoller concept and product design. The WaveRoller is the first device to utilize the well known form of ocean wave energy – the surge phenomenon (Learn more about Wave Surge). AW-Energy is privately held by the founders, personnel and capital investors
