Unique ‘flying saucer’-like wave energy converter eyes real-world deployment

CETO, a fully submerged wave energy converter (WEC) from Australian company Carnegie Clean Energy, is seeking a certification from the marine classification society Lloyd’s Register to demonstrate that its technology conforms to the International Electrotechnical Commission’s Renewable Energy (IECRE) System, a press release said.

While the world seeks to meet its surging energy demands from wind and solar power plants, a huge reserve of energy available across 70 percent of the Earth remains untapped. As per estimates from the US Department of Energy, the kinetic energy in tidal waves can single-handedly meet 60 percent of US energy demand.

However, the hurdle in achieving this feat has been developing a cost-effective and efficient design that can convert the energy in the waves into electrical energy that can be supplied through the grid.

Wave energy converters

Interesting Engineering has previously reported on multiple WEC designs that aim to tap into the kinetic energy of the waves. To the uninitiated, the floating designs resemble huge onions floating or serpents moving on the water’s surface.

On the other hand, Carnegie Clean Energy’s CETO is much more subdued. Still, it could also be mistaken for a frying pan submerged in the water. Its flat and submerged design makes it easier to deploy without alarming beachgoers and while protecting marine life.

Named after the Greek sea goddess CETO, the device features a buoyant actuator that generates carbon-free electricity from the movement of the waves. The prototype was developed at the Biscay Marine Energy Platform (BiMEP) in Basque Country, Spain, and is expected to be deployed in 2025 .

Certification process

Even as the results from its deployment are awaited, Carnegie Clean Energy is keen to demonstrate that its wave energy conversion technology is at par with solar and wind energy devices that have been commercially deployed worldwide.

It has approached Lloyd’s Register to assess the CETO device by the International Electrotechnical Commission’s Renewable Energy (IECRE) System’s operational document OD-310-4.

A team of six specialists will now evaluate the novel aspects of the CETO design through the IECRE technology qualification process, determine its feasibility, validate its technology, and provide a conformity statement for its technology qualification.

This would be an important step that CETO would go through on its way to achieving type certification.

“With a surge in interest for an IECRE certification for marine energy converters, I am delighted to recognize Carnegie Clean Energy’s interest in pursuing a certification through the conformity assessment system for their WEC,” said Winston D’Souza, Global Technical Authority for Offshore Renewables at Lloyd’s Register in the press release .

“Partnering with Lloyd’s Register on this process is an important step forward in CETO development,” added Alexandre Pichard, Chief Technology Officer at Carnegie Clean Energy. “Carnegie’s pursuit of IECRE certification for its CETO device is a strategic step in CETO’s commercialization pathway providing multifaceted benefits.”

“By aligning CETO with international standards, the company is moving towards wider adoption of the technology and a future where wave energy is a competitive solution in our global energy mix,” Pichard concluded.