After OTEC and tidal, Shell sets sights on wave energy as well

Business Developments & Projects

November 13, 2023, by Amir Garanovic

Danish wave energy company Wavepiston has partnered up with Shell Technology – Marine Renewable Program to identify opportunities and potential avenues for collaboration on ocean energy developments.

Illustration/Wavepiston's wave energy technology (Courtesy of Wavepiston)

Shell Technology – Marine Renewable Program is actively investigating the potential of marine technologies for harnessing energy from oceans, according to Wavepiston.

In partnership with Shell, the Danish company said it will conduct a comprehensive desktop feasibility study to identify technological opportunities and potential avenues for collaboration.

Wavepiston is presently engaged in several projects to demonstrate its wave energy technology – one is to develop and test a lighter, cheaper, and more robust version of its energy collector, one dedicated to electricity generation and another to provide a combined solution for electricity and desalination, particularly beneficial for island communities.

“Shell MRE is looking forward to learning from these projects and helping to continue to develop Wavepiston’s experience,” the company said.

The move follows the signing of the contract between the U.S.-based marine energy technology developer ORPC and Shell Technology – Marine Renewable Program for the purchase of two next-generation Modular RivGen devices, signed in October 2023.

The Modular RivGen devices, which uses the same patented cross-flow turbine technology to harness river currents as ORPC’s commercial RivGen power system, will be deployed as a technology demonstration at a Shell facility on the Lower Mississippi River in 2024.

In addition, Shell Technology – Marine Renewable Program last week signed a deal with Makai Ocean Engineering to further develop and test potentially transformative proprietary technologies that advance the engineering and economic viability of an offshore ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) system.

A key part of this study is to work with Shell to accelerate the timeframe for reaching true economic viability of OTEC systems, Makai Ocean Engineering said.