Following the huge interest in renewable energy, there is now growing international interest in marine energy technologies. This sector has recently been estimated to have a global potential of 300 GW by 2050. The technologies are not yet at the commercial stage, but it is believed that they could become a significant part of the energy mix from around 2030.

The “Electricity from the Sea” project focuses on wave energy conversion, a sector where there is no consensus on the most promising configuration and where more than one hundred different devices are under development in over thirty countries. The progress and future commercial success of each device depends on the technology being proven, reliable and economically sustainable.

Although wave energy is generally less abundant than in the open seas and oceans, there is a growing interest in the technological development of the sector in Italy as well, which presents us with important challenges and opportunities, including the creation of low-cost devices, the specialization of devices for the characteristics of the resource in Mediterranean locations and the use of coastal infrastructure for installation. In this context, RSE’s system research has led to the development of the WaveSAX device for generating electricity from wave motion, based on the principle of the “oscillating water column” in an innovative configuration in which the turbine (Wells type) is placed in the liquid phase.

During the previous year of research, the 1:5 scale WaveSAX hydraulic prototype – equipped with a Wells turbine and power generation and control system – was tested in a naval tank at the INSEAN National Research Center in Rome.

During the reference period, the 1:5 prototype of the WaveSAX device was tested on a dry bench to evaluate the mechanical and electromechanical losses to analyze the scaling effect on the PTO. A numerical analysis was carried out to evaluate the effect of the water intake geometry on the energy produced by the device using a 5-blade Wells turbine. Preliminary designs of a first prototype of the WaveSAX device (1:1) were developed, both for the fixed and mobile parts and for the generation and control system. The LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) analysis was carried out to support the choice of materials for the construction of the first prototype. The wave and current measurement campaign continued in the port of Civitavecchia. Finally, the second stage of the development of a wave forecasting system, which allows the estimation of the wave energy potential available at a site over the next 72 hours, which began during the previous research period, was completed.

This report summarizes the results of the above activities.