Espoo wave energy firm signs EUR 3 million contract with new EU project

Finland is finally waking up to the potential of wave power

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AW-Energy, an Espoo-based cleantech company developing unique and patented wave energy technology, has signed a EUR 3.0 million contract with the European Union to demonstrate its technology.
      The contract between AW-Energy and the EU is the first one under the CALL Framework Programme - "Demonstration of the innovative full-size systems”.
     
The goal of the project is to manufacture and deploy the first full-size Finnish wave energy unit in the Portuguese waters.
      The nominal capacity of AW-Energy’s WaveRoller unit is 300 kW and the project includes a one-year testing period, starting from the summer of 2011.
      ”As far as we know, several leading wave energy companies participated in the call for proposals. In addition to AW-Energy, only three other companies were chosen”, says John Liljelund, CEO at AW-Energy.
     
The success of AW-Energy was apposite, since so far the Finnish wave technology development has been entirely based on small individual entrepreneurs like this.
      With the exception of AW-Energy, the encouraging and financing of nursery enterprises has been inadequate, while for example Professor Peter Lund from the Helsinki University of Technology has criticised Finland for a lack of courage, warning that unless the amount of public funding for wave energy is increased, Finland is likely to fall behind the development.
      Now the Ministry of Employment and the Economy as well as the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (Tekes) are finally waking up.
     
Finland intends to join the Implementing Agreement on Ocean Energy Systems (OES) of the International Energy Agency (IEA), established to provide a framework for international collaboration in energy technology R&D, demonstration, and information exchange.
      Denmark joined the IEA-OES back in 2001, Norway in 2007, and Sweden in 2008.
      In addition, Tekes is to launch a programme focusing on renewable energy resources, attempting to help particularly small and medium-sized enterprises to find funding and networks.
      ”Finland is in the process of developing strong expertise not only in technology but also in determining surge conditions”, notes Juha Lindén, a technology expert at Tekes.
      ”AW-Energy can be regarded as the world’s leading company in the bottom wave technology. The company has managed to set the EU project off with its own efforts”, Linden claims.
     
If the testing period indicates that AW-Energy’s WaveRoller unit is really able to supply enough electricity on the bottom of the Portuguese waters, the next step would be the commercialisation of the project.
      This could mean that AW-Energy should sell its technology to larger companies, as by global standards the company itself is a small player.
      In other words, expertise could become the most important source of income for AW-Energy.
      ”Good production sites are like gold, and we have the tools to find them”, Liljelund believes.
      ”When it comes to wind energy, Finland has more or less missed the bus, while wave energy could become an export item that is worth hundreds of millions”, says Liljelund.
     
The global ocean energy resources are enormous.
      Ocean energy technology represents the largest untapped business potential within the renewables sector. However, the wave energy potential in the Baltic Sea is regarded as small.
      At present, a technical breakthrough is being sought in the harnessing of surface waves, bottom waves, and tidal waves.
      Another Finnish company trying to turn wave power technology into an export item is the Hamina-based Ecowave (see earlier article).


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finnish companies trying for breakthrough in harnessing wave power (31.8.2009)

Links:
  AW-Energy news release, 2.10.2009: AW-Energy First Wave Energy Company To Sign $4.4M Contract With New EU Project
  IEA - Ocean Energy Systems Implementing Agreement

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