TotalEnergies gets onboard CorPower Ocean’s Pilot Access Program

Outlook & Strategy

December 5, 2023, by Amir Garanovic

French multi-energy major TotalEnergies has joined CorPower Ocean’s Pilot Access Program to evaluate wave energy technology as one of the solutions for decarbonization.

CorPower Ocean's C4 wave energy device offshore Portugal (Courtesy of CorPower Ocean)

The Pilot Access Program will provide TotalEnergies deep insights into CorPower Ocean’s wave technology and its operation through the HiWave-5 pilot at the Aguçadoura site in northern Portugal.

During the program, operational data will be collected on the first full scale C4 wave energy device, followed by a CorPack wave cluster demonstration in later stages of the project with three additional C5 wave energy devices.

A CorPack cluster provides a turnkey solution to generate electricity from ocean waves, including wave energy converters, moorings, anchoring systems, intra-cluster cabling and an electrical collection hub for power export.

It is anticipated that participation will support TotalEnergies’ ambitions addressing the wider energy transition across their production and energy products, as it aims to become net zero, together with society, by 2050.

By following HiWave-5 project, TotalEnergies aims to confirm the progression of wave energy technology maturity, instilling confidence in the system reliability while de-risking the technology and associated operations. This collaboration is poised to improve confidence in cost projections, leading to increased accuracy in the techno-economic assessments, according to CorPower Ocean.

Furthermore, TotalEnergies will also be able to provide valuable insights to test plans, drawing upon extensive expertise in offshore installation, maintenance and operations.

Kevin Rebenius, CorPower Ocean’s commercial director, said: “We are thrilled to welcome TotalEnergies as a new partner. The Pilot Access Program is a powerful tool to build confidence in our technology and delivery capacity. We see this as just the beginning of our journey with TotalEnergies and are excited about the global potential and the role wave energy can take in the transition to net zero.”

Corentin de Leffe, TotalEnergies’ ocean energy r&d upstream project manager, added: “TotalEnergies participation in CorPower’s pilot program demonstrates its commitment to develop new solutions for decarbonization and support a net zero society by 2050, across the world. TotalEnergies is pleased to join and look forward to seeing the results of this collaboration.”