Wave power could be on-track to reach a levelised cost of energy (LCOE) competitive with offshore wind and new-build gas, following a three-year EU-funded project to devise an innovative power take-off (PTO) system that would boost the performance of many of the sector’s soon-to-be commercialised devices.

Led by Swedish outfit CorPower Ocean, the WaveBoost consortium, which was financed by Horizon 2020 funding, has developed a PTO that will “allow wave energy converters [WECs] to operate safer and more reliably in harsh ocean conditions while increasing annual electricity production by 27%”, a breakthrough that put the technology on a trajectory to reach a LCOE of sub-€30/MWh ($45/MWh).