Wavepiston spearheads multi-national wave energy project

Danish company Wavepiston has commenced the SHY project (Seawater Hydraulic PTO using dynamic passive controller for wave energy converters), with consortium members all over Europe that joined together at Kronborg Slot in Elsinore, Denmark.

The SHY project aims to unlock the potential of wave energy by developing key components of a seawater hydraulic power-take-off (PTO) system and an advanced control strategy. This approach seeks to reduce the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and minimize environmental impact.

According to Wavepiston, the development and validation efforts are centered around four principal and interconnected products, all aimed at reducing the LCOE, ensuring the reliability and operability of wave energy converters (WECs).

The control co-design approach of the SHY project takes into account the control strategy for power capture and its impact on both capital and operational costs (CAPEX and OPEX). Validation of PTO hardware and controllers will involve hardware-in-the-loop (HiL) testing, followed by final validation using an offshore test bench to ensure real-world applicability.

At the meeting that took place on May 22, 2024, the companies spent two days aligning expectations with the consortium and the European Commission and agreeing on the next steps, said Wavepiston. 

Led by Wavepiston’s CTO Steen Grønkjær Thomsen, the project benefits from the partners across various sectors. The project consortium comprises nine organizations across seven countries, including the National University of Ireland Maynooth, Technical University of Denmark, OEMs FibronPipe (AT) and LESER (DE), specialist SMEs Julia F. Chozas (DK), Applied Renewables Research (UK) and Marine Systems Modelling (NL), the Spanish offshore test site PLOCAN, and wave energy technology developer Wavepiston (DK & ES).

The SHY Project, focused on advancing wave energy, received a €4 million grant from the Horizon Europe funding program for research and innovation.