Wave Power – from shared R&D needs to new projects

Technology developers, research communities and public sector actors met in Bergen to identify shared R&D needs and opportunities for new collaborative projects in wave power.

GCE Ocean Technology, Energiomstilling Vest (EOV) and Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL) brought together players from the wave power community for a dedicated R&D meeting at HVL's Bergen campus 3 September.

The goal wasn't just to present technologies and ongoing activities, but to identify challenges that could be tackled jointly – ones that could eventually grow into new research, innovation and demonstration projects.

A broad wave power community

The meeting brought together, among others, CorPower Ocean, ConCrest Energy, Havkraft, Hurricane Innovation, Ocean Harvesting, Portunus Solutions, Stadt Towing Tank, SFI Smart Ocean, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, the University of Bergen, Vestland County Council and GCE Ocean Technology.

Participants were asked to answer two questions briefly: What are we working on now – and what do we want to develop further together with others?

The presentations showed both the breadth of technology solutions and the expertise found in the region – spanning hydrodynamics and physical testing to digitalization, control systems, subsea technology and energy systems.

From individual technologies to shared R&D needs

A central part of the meeting centered on one question: What should we develop together?

Using the R&D needs identified through the Energi2050 initiative as a starting point, participants discussed knowledge gaps, the R&D expertise required, potential collaboration partners and possible funding pathways.

Several of the challenges cut across individual technology concepts – among them, technology and cost development, modeling and control, testing and validation, robust solutions for demanding ocean environments, energy optimization, and further development toward commercial application.

The discussions also surfaced interesting possibilities around hybrid energy systems, energy storage, and smarter control and optimization of wave power systems.

Strong presentations and discussions at the meeting

From R&D needs to funding

Turning a technology challenge into a concrete R&D project requires the right expertise, the right partners, and relevant funding to all be in place.

Kjersti Skjervheim from FORREGION, Jon Hellevang from GCE Ocean Technology, and Kristoffer Hammer from Vestland County Council presented opportunities for further project development, along with relevant Norwegian and European funding instruments.

The group also discussed how current initiatives could be matured further and positioned toward, among other things, Horizon Europe 2027.

Photo: David Lande-Sudall showcased the MarinLab.

From workshop to concrete projects

The final part of the meeting focused on prioritization: Which two or three initiatives should move forward? Which industry players, R&D partners or investors are missing? And what should the next concrete step be?

For GCE Ocean Technology, this is a key part of the cluster's role – connecting companies, research expertise, potential end users and funding opportunities around challenges that can be difficult for individual companies to solve alone.

The work is now being followed up together with FORREGION, Energiomstilling Vest and relevant industry and research players, with the aim of identifying which R&D needs hold the greatest potential for further project development.

The ambition is to move from shared challenges → the right partners → R&D collaboration → new technology and new market opportunities.

The meeting closed with a tour of MarinLab, where participants got to see HVL's facilities and expertise in physical modeling and testing of marine technology.

You can join one of our resource groups on energy too - read more here