ONDEP project secures €19 million funding to deploy WaveRoller Array in Portugal

The ONDEP project will commence in October 2024 and last for 5.5 years, encompassing the full spectrum of project activities – from design and manufacturing to testing, deployment, and operation. Set in the surfing hub of Peniche, Portugal, the pilot wave farm will be installed and connected to the grid and will continue generating electricity for an additional eight years after the project’s official end.

“This project builds on two decades of hard work developing WaveRoller into a commercial asset. We’re excited to work on this collaboration together with the other partners to create a new industry in Europe,” said Christoper Ridgewell, CEO of AW-Energy, the lead technology provider for ONDEP.

ONDEP’s mission over the next 5.5 years is to address the technical challenges of future large scale wave farms, ensuring the technology’s reliability and scalability. The project will also establish a comprehensive, end-to-end European supply chain to support the deployment of gigawatt-scale wave energy across Europe and beyond, marking a significant step towards the industrialisation of wave energy.

“Wave energy is the largest untapped renewable energy resource in the world. The ONDEP project is poised to be among the first pilot wave farms globally, advancing this new industry to an industrial level. It will pave the way towards a zero-carbon future,” commented Rémi Gruet, CEO of Ocean Energy Europe.

By 2030, ONDEP plans to unlock the potential for 11 wave energy farms across eight countries on four continents, with a total cumulative capacity of 83 MW. Looking further ahead to 2035, the project aims to demonstrate a levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of less than €100/MWh, paving the way for a sustainable blue economy. This could also lead to the creation of up to 500 000 jobs across Europe, reinforcing Europe’s leadership in renewable energy.

Coordinated by Queen’s University Belfast, the project includes 14 partners from across Europe, including leading companies and research institutions. These partners, coming from Belgium, Finland, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and the UK, bring together expertise covering the entire wave energy value chain.

“Queen’s University Belfast is a centre of excellence for renewable energy, coastal engineering and wave energy technology. As well as coordination we’re looking forward to valuable research that we’re confident will benefit the entire industry,” said Dr Pal Schmitt, Lecturer, School of Natural and Built Environment.

This collaboration is vital to ensuring the successful development, deployment, and commercialisation of wave energy technology on a global scale, paving the way for a sustainable energy future.

For more news and technical articles from the global renewable industry, read the latest issue of Energy Global magazine.

Energy Global's Summer 2024 issue

The Summer 2024 issue of Energy Global starts with a guest comment from Terrawatt on the streamlining of the permitting process in Italy, before moving on to a regional report from Frost & Sullivan on the energy landscape in Asia Pacific. This issue looks at key topics such as wind installation vessels, offshore wind turbine foundations, weather analysis, solar maintenance, and more!

Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/other-renewables/06092024/ondep-project-secures-19-million-funding-to-deploy-waveroller-array-in-portugal/