Wello files for bankruptcy and ceases wave energy operations

Fifteen years after its establishment, the Finnish company Wello has declared bankruptcy and ceased operations following the failure of two of its full-scale Penguin wave energy devices in real sea conditions – the last of which occurred offshore Spain in late 2021.

Inspired by the natural movement of waves, Wello designed its Penguin wave energy device using the principles of rotation. The unique asymmetrical shape of the Penguin and its power take-off system mean the device is able to capture the energy in the waves from all of its sides.

As waves crash into device’s hull, the Penguin rotates in place, gyrating around a central point transferring and capturing the energy from the waves.

Wello claimed the Penguin was made to survive anything the ocean can throw at it, whilst having zero emissions and being as environmentally neutral as possible.

This proved not to be the case, as the company’s Penguins experienced two catastrophic failures which led to their sinking – first offshore Scotland, at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), when the 1MW-rated device sank beneath the waves in March 2019. Worth noting, it was continuously operating at EMEC’s Billia Croo site test site for over two years.

The second Penguin that failed in its long-term performance at sea was the 600kW-rated device that was deployed at the Biscay Marine Energy Platform (BiMEP) offshore Spain.

The device was planned to undergo a two-year test campaign but was retrieved less than six months after the deployment.

At the time, Wello said the Penguin was hit by an ‘unknown floating object’ which caused the leakage inside the device. However, the marine operators and inspectors said later that the device was initially damaged during the tow towards the deployment site, which ultimately caused it to fail.

Since the BiMEP incident, Wello continued operating and signed several collaboration deals for new projects – from Barbados to Taiwan – in an effort to get the business back on track.

Unfortunately, in late February 2023, Wello filed for bankruptcy to the Finnish financial regulators, citing the lack of funds as the main reason.

The company has since appointed Lexia as its legal partner, with Jari Maaranen in charge of the case, who is heading Lexia’s insolvency and turnaround practice.

According to Wello’s founder and CEO, Heikki Paakkinen, the company’s intellectual property (IP) has been sold to another company, and the jobs for most of the team have also been secured there.

“Wello is not in business anymore. Another company, Holvi Oy, has acquired all IP from Wello and most of the team has also followed to Holvi. The company will continue providing the same technology and developing the product further,” Paakkinen said.

Holvi is based in Espoo in Finland, and Paakkinen is listed as the main point of contact. He added that Holvi is the company that originally developed the Penguin working principle and applied for that patent.

“Holvi continues working with some of the earlier Wello’s customers with the intention to deploy at a commercial site in near future,” concluded Paakkinen.

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