The European Commission has decided to reinvest unspent funds from the NER300 programme to support wave energy technology WaveRoller under InnovFin Energy Demo Projects (EDP).
Reinvesting the unspent funds from the first NER300 call enables timely support to promising projects before the launch of the Innovation Fund in 2020.
The WaveRoller technology, developed by Finnish company AW-Energy, is on of the three projects now benefiting from support of some €73 million.
The project is co-financed by the existing shareholders, the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation and an InnovFin EDP financing from the European Investment Bank supported by a NER300 contribution of €10 million.
The WaveRoller is a device that converts ocean wave energy to electricity. The machine operates in near-shore areas (approximately 0.3-2 km from the shore) at depths of between 8 and 20 meters. Depending on tidal conditions it is mostly or fully submerged and fixed to the seabed. A single WaveRoller unit (one panel and PTO combination) is rated at between 350kW and 1000kW, with a capacity factor of 25-50% depending on wave conditions at the project site. The technology can be deployed as single units or in farms.
AW-Energy has recently received a manufacturing certificate, as proof of technology from Lloyd’s Register.
The company’s newest project to convert the energy from ocean waves using WaveRoller technology is underway off the coast of Portugal (SURGE2 project).
InnovFin EDP, an EU financial instrument managed by the European Investment Bank, finances projects in innovative renewable energy, carbon capture and storage (CCS), smart energy systems and storage, helping to bridge the gap from demonstration to commercialisation. The financial instrument is entirely market-driven and the support to eligible projects is provided on a first come, first served basis.
Thanks to the additional contributions from the NER300 unspent funds, InnovFin EDP now has more funds available for new operations.