International consortium launches wave energy pilot to conquer tech challenges for large-scale farms

The Ondas de Peniche (ONDEP) project has launched as a consortium of major players gathered in Brussels, Belgium, to kick off the wave energy pilot farm. 

This initiative, aimed at harnessing wave energy for scalable solutions across Europe, includes consortium members such as Queen’s University Belfast, TECNALIA Research & Innovation, AW-Energy Oy, ASTURFEITO, Etermar – Engenharia, Dr.techn. Olav Olsen, Shell Energy, EST, WISE Power, Tecnoambiente, WavEC – Offshore Renewables, EMEC: European Marine Energy Centre, Ocean Energy Europe, and Efund Group. 

Over the course of five and a half years, ONDEP said that it will focus on overcoming technical challenges for large-scale wave farms, ensuring reliability and expanding scalability. The project aims to build a comprehensive end-to-end European supply chain to support the deployment of GW-scale wave energy across Europe and beyond.

By 2030, ONDEP plans to establish 11 wave energy farms in eight countries across four continents, with a total capacity of 83 MW. By 2035, the goal is to achieve a levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of less than €100/MWh, contributing to a sustainable blue economy.

Described as “one of the first pilot wave farm projects in Europe,” the ONDEP initiative is focused on advancing wave energy technology and speeding up commercial deployment. 

The project recently secured €19 million in funding from the EU’s Horizon Europe funding program to deploy a 2 MW wave energy array with four WaveRoller wave energy converters (WECs) offshore Portugal.