Seabased: énergie houlomotrice

Seabased is a Swedish company founded in 2001 that markets wave energy farms.

Seabased wave energy

Wave energy is arenewable form ofenergy that harnesses the kinetic energy of ocean waves to generate electricity. Specific devices, such as point absorbers, oscillating columns and lapping waves, capture wave motion and convert it into mechanical energy. This mechanical energy is then transformed into electricity by generators. Wave energy has the advantage of being more predictable and less intermittent than other renewable energy sources. In this niche, there are Carnegie Clean Energy and Hace Wave Energy (two projects that do not seem to be very dynamic).

The Seabased system uses pylons anchored to the ground by a (concrete?) slab, inside which is a sort of pump which, I suppose, generates electricity by being driven by the buoys to which it is attached. Power from the farm’s various towers is centralized, then transmitted to the coast.

Seabased history, projects and financing

Seabased was founded in Sweden in 2001 by Professor Mats Leijon, a researcher and inventor in the field of wave energy. The company grew out of research carried out by Leijon and his team at Uppsala University and the Wave Energy Research Centre (CEWEC) at the University of Western Sweden.

Over the years, Seabased has developed and refined its wave energy technology by conducting small-scale tests and building prototypes. In 2015, the company took a major step forward by installing its first commercial wave farm, the Sotenas farm in Sweden, with a capacity of 10 MW, with the help of manufacturer Fortum.

Projects

Several projects have been announced or completed. You can find the first ones, starting in 2006, here: https://seabased.com/projects. Here are the most current ones I’ve found:

  • In 2018 a contract was announced for a 100MW installation off Ada Foah, Ghana. There had previously been a 400kW test, completed in 2016. An agreement was signed in summer 2020 to “revitalize” this project, with 85% financing from a Chinese company. 2 billion was announced for the project.
  • March 2021 saw the announcement of a 40MW wave farm in Bermuda.
  • In June 2021, a project was announced for a 2MW pilot wave installation in Audierne Bay, off the coast of Finistère. A 10MW farm was planned in the event of success.
  • In March 2023, the company announced the installation of a 10MW farm in Tonga in two phases: an initial 2MW test, then the remaining 8MW afterwards.

To find out more:

  • https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315657035_Offshore_Deployments_of_Wave_Energy_Converters_by_Seabased_Industry_AB