Under Current Wave Power to be Harnessed in the Production of Clean Energy
AW-Energy, a Finnish cleantech company developing a unique and patented wave energy technology brand named WaveRoller, has signed a $4.4M (3 million euros) contract with the European Union to demonstrateits technology. Ocean energy technology represents the largest untapped business potential within the renewables sector.
The contract between AW-Energy and the EU is the first one under the "CALL FP7 - Demonstration of the innovative full size systems." Several leading wave energy companies participated to the CALL. The contract includes a 3 million euro grant agreement, providing significant support to the demonstration project.
The goal of the project is to manufacture and deploy the first grid-connected WaveRoller unit in the Portuguese waters. The exact installation site is located near the town of Peniche, which is famous of its wave resources and also known as "Capital of the waves." The nominal capacity of the WaveRoller unit is 300 kW and the project includes a one-year testing period.
The consortium lead by AW-Energy includes companies from Finland, Portugal, Germany and Belgium. Industrial heavy weights like Bosch-Rexroth and ABB, together with renewable energy operator Eneolica and wave energy specialist Wave Energy Center, are delivering their best know-how to ensure successful implementation of the project.
"The experience of our dream team consortium is a significant asset to the project, and we are thrilled about this real pan-European co-operation. AW-Energy has been working hard the last three years with two sea installed prototypes, tank testing and CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulations. Now we have the site, grid connection permission, installation license and the technology ready for the demonstration phase," says John Liljelund, CEO at AW-Energy.
About AW-Energy
AW-Energy Ltd is a Finnish cleantech company that has developed and patented a groundbreaking concept and product design, the WaveRoller, for the next-generation of electricity from surge. Surge is a well-known form of ocean (wave) energy. AW-Energy is privately held by its founders, personnel and investors. Our investors include Aura Capital, JN Uljas, Sitra and Fortum. For more information about AW-Energy and the WaveRoller, visit http://www.aw-energy.com.
The Wave-Roller Concept
The Concept
In 1993, professional diver Rauno Koivusaari was exploring a shipwreck in the Baltic. He was almost hit by a bulkhead door that was flapping slowly back and forth in powerful underwater waves. Most divers have noticed this phenomenon, but Rauno began to wonder if this bottom wave energy could be harnessed. It can – with WaveRoller.
In surface waves or swell, water particles roll in a circular motion. Coming in toward the shore, this energy is squeezed by the reducing depth. Below the surface swell, at a depth half of the length of the swell, the circular rolling motion becomes more elliptical, and at the sea bottom the water particles rock back and forth up to the breaker line.
WaveRoller captures this kinetic energy, using a specially designed bottom-mounted moving wing. The captured energy is converted to electricity using traditional technologies.
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