Australian renewables firm secures AU$2.4M in govt funding for wave energy development

October 22, 2024, by Zerina Maksumic

The Australian Government has awarded AU$2.4 million (around $1.6M) to renewable energy business WaveX to drive its wave energy technology, as a part of a broader AU$55 million fund aimed at driving innovation across key sectors in Australia.

The funding was unveiled by Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic, in the latest round of Cooperative Research Centres Projects (CRC-P).

WaveX will use the grant to further develop a shared anchor system for offshore wind and wave energy. In collaboration with the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI) and the University of Western Australia (UWA), the project will evaluate the performance of helical piles as shared anchors for the company’s WaveX D-Spar technology.

According to WaveX, testing will involve physical and numerical modeling at UWA’s Centrifuge facility, with the potential to make significant advancements for both wave energy and offshore wind industries.

“More than $55 million for scaling up good ideas is what will help drive business in the longer term,” said Minister Husic. “We want Australia to be a renewable superpower that’s why we’ll continue to back companies like WaveX.”

WaveX’s team, which has collectively installed over a million tonnes of offshore structures, is well-positioned to push the boundaries of offshore energy development with this anchor project, noted the company.

As Australia looks to strengthen its position in offshore renewable energy, efforts like those of WaveX are part of a broader ambition to integrate wave energy with offshore wind.

According to WaveX, anchoring solutions developed through these partnerships could hold the potential to revolutionize both sectors, making renewable energy more efficient and economically viable.

WaveX’s D-Spar is a floating steel buoy designed to convert ocean wave motion into electricity for industrial and utility-scale use. The platform generates power from wave energy, offering a renewable source of electricity for various applications.

In August, WaveX received a statement of feasibility from OWC Australia & New Zealand, a division of energy and marine consultancy ABL Group, for its wave-powered generator technology. Following a technical review, OWC deemed the D-Spar wave power generator to be feasible.