In Italy, there is a growing interest in the technological development of the sector, which presents us with important challenges and opportunities, including the realisation of low-cost devices, the refinement of devices to the characteristics of the resource in Mediterranean locations and the use of coastal infrastructure for installation. In this context, the development of the WaveSAX device, which RSE is working on as part of its systems research, is based on the principle of the “oscillating water column” (OWC) in an innovative configuration in which the turbine (Wells type) is placed in the liquid phase. The activities carried out during the current research year focused mainly on the sea trials of the WaveSAX (1:5), the optimization of the device through numerical analysis/LCA studies and the continuation of in-situ measurements (Civitavecchia and Mazara del Vallo) for the evaluation of the marine energy resource.

In recent years, ocean energy has been the subject of several policy initiatives at both European and national level. In the European Union, following the launch of the Ocean Energy Communication in 2014 and the subsequent establishment of the Ocean Energy Forum, industry has been invited to come together to identify joint actions to bring the technology to market.

More recently, the inclusion of ocean energy in the European Union’s new Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan) (2015) has highlighted Europe’s current leadership in the field and the need to improve the performance of ocean energy technologies through innovation. In line with the SET Plan, the European Commission, Member States and stakeholders have developed a “Declaration of Intent on Ocean Energy” which sets cost reduction targets for ocean energy technologies to make a significant contribution to the future European energy system (2016).

The scale of ocean energy commercialization is enormous. In Europe alone, the ocean energy industry plans to deploy 100 GW of generating capacity by 2050, reaching 10% of electricity demand. This is enough to meet the daily electricity needs of 76 million households. Deploying 100 GW of energy will also mean creating a new industry sector in Europe, with more than 400,000 skilled jobs throughout the supply chain (OEE, 2018).

The Electricity from the Sea project addresses the issue of wave energy conversion, an area where there is still no consensus on the most promising configuration, resulting in more than a hundred different devices being developed in over thirty countries. The progress and future commercial success of any individual device depends on whether the technology is proven, reliable and economically viable.

Although the wave resource is generally smaller 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 development 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, the development of the WaveSAX wave energy device, which RSE is working on as part of its systems research, is based on the “oscillating water column” principle in an innovative configuration in which the turbine (Wells type) is placed in the liquid phase.

In the past year, WaveSAX’s 1:5 scale hydraulic prototype – equipped with a Wells turbine and generation and control system – was tested in a naval tank at CNR INSEAN in Rome.

In the current reporting period, however, interventions to improve the device have been investigated.

In particular, a new WaveSAX device generation and control system (1:5) has been developed and tested at sea in the sea wall of the Port of Civitavecchia. A numerical analysis of the device was carried out to evaluate the effect of the geometry of the water inlet and the diameter of the oscillating water column on the energy produced. The WaveSAX device with a 6-bladed Wells turbine was also studied.

Progress was made in defining the details of an initial prototype of the WaveSAX device (1:1). A LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) analysis was conducted to support the choice of materials for the construction of the first prototype.

Regarding the assessment of the wave resource in the Mediterranean area, the ondametric and current-measurement campaign in the Port of Civitavecchia continued, as did the one in Mazara del Vallo.

A summary of the results obtained from the above activities is given in this report.