Dutch start-up gearing up to tame the waves off The Hague

A newcomer in the wave energy sector, founded only a year ago with a name that pretty much speaks for itself – Dutch Wave Power – is preparing to launch its scaled wave energy prototype device for real sea trials offshore The Hague in the Netherlands.

Founded in 2020 by Sten Swanenberg and Hans Lustig after two years of research and development, Dutch Wave Power is making great strides towards its ultimate goal of making wave energy cost-competitive renewable energy resource which has potential to significantly contribute to the future net-zero energy mix.

Namely, the company has secured a subsidy from the Municipality of the Hague dubbed ‘MKB Stimuleringsregeling Proeftuin op de Noordzee’ in the amount of €25,000 to test and validate its wave energy converter at a test site located 12 kilometers outside the Port of Scheveningen.

The project, funded through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and supported by the Municipality of The Hague and other partners, will see Dutch Wave Power install its wave energy prototype at scale 1:3 or 1:4 at the North Sea Farmers test site in the first quarter of 2022.

The real-sea trials follow the extensive testing conducted in 2020 in the Delta Flume tank at knowledge institute Deltares, as well as the more recent ones performed at Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN), which served for proving power outputs and multiple variations of the company’s wave energy concepts.

According to Dutch Wave Power’s co-founder Sten Swanenberg, the upcoming sea trials will be focused on the company’s near shore concept (pictured) and the verification of the numerical models related to the power output of the device.

“We are very pleased with the subsidy as it accelerates the development of our technology and provides the opportunity to demonstrate the potential of wave energy”, said Swanenberg.

The trials, expected to last for six months, will also serve to prove the robustness of the device and its survivability and reliability under a range of regular and irregular wave conditions encountered in the Dutch North Sea.

Dutch Wave Power’s technology consists of a floating body containing all the energy conversion components, completely sealed off from the seawater. The floating body moves along with the rotating movement of the waves. This rotation is used to generate renewable energy.

The real-sea trial will move Dutch Wave Power’s concept to technology readiness level (TRL) of 5-6, meaning the concept has been validated and demonstrated in relevant environment, marking an important step on the company’s path to developing the technology to full maturity.

The development of wave energy, as well as other innovative marine renewable energy solutions – such as floating solar – could be an answer to decarbonization and energy transition challenges of our time, and is very much in line with the ambition of The Hague Municipality to become energy neutral by 2030.