About wave energy

When the wind blows over the sea, its energy is transferred into the water and moves across the planet in the form of waves. Even after the breakers crash to the shore, the power keeps on coming, as the ocean’s swell travels across entire sea basins.

An innovative set of technologies, known as wave energy converters (WECs), can extract this huge energy resource and turn it into electricity. Technology developers from around the world have put their WEC devices through years of extensive testing, and are now racing towards commercialisation. The most advanced technologies come from Europe, where the sector was born, but other countries such as the USA and China are catching up with large investments in the sector.

The size of the prize is colossal: with an estimated potential capacity of up to 29,500 TWh  per year, wave energy alone could easily meet all of the world’s energy demands. Some of the best resources can be found along Europe’s Atlantic coastlines.

What the wave energy sector needs now is not innovation - it has plenty! - but innovative support systems. Picking the winners from a plethora of emerging technologies is essential to gain investor confidence and kick-start this new industry. The EuropeWave project aims to take technologies that prove themselves and propel them to the commercial stage.