The European Investment Bank (EIB) has announced it will invest up to €10 million euros in AW-Energy, a pioneering start-up company from Finland which developed “WaveRoller” wave energy technology.
The investment will support and speed up the commercial roll-out of European wave energy technology. This is the first project to be supported by the InnovFin Energy Demonstration Project (EDP) programme.
EU Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, EIB Vice-President Jan Vapaavuori and CEO of AW-Energy John Liljelund signed the EUR 10 million agreement in Brussels last week.
EIB Vice-President Jan Vapaavuori said:
“I think it would be hard to underestimate the importance of this type of pilot project that can open up untapped sources of clean energy. One of the goals of InnovFin is to support new technologies and the EIB is glad it can support this project through this instrument. The symbolic importance of a highly innovative Finnish company putting a project in place in Portugal makes this a truly European initiative.”
EU Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, added:
“An investment in renewable energy technologies is an investment in Europe's leadership of these new industries. We want to support renewable energy pioneers to contribute solutions to global climate change challenges, while generating employment and sustainable economic growth at home in Europe."
AW-Energy has developed a near-shore underwater device that converts wave energy into electrical power. In 2012, the company installed three 100kW demonstration units connected to the grid near Peniche, in Portugal.
The support of the EIB will help to keep the company firmly on the track of commercialisation of the WaveRoller®. AW-Energy is about to install a full-scale 350kW device in the same area of Portugal.
The company has identified commercial leads in six countries and has the potential objective of selling more than 50 units in the four coming years. The project will also be financed by Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation.
AW-Energy’s CEO, John Liljelund, said:
“This is a significant milestone not only for WaveRoller and the wave energy sector, but for the ocean energy industry as a whole, which is currently on the brink of a commercial breakthrough. As a constant and far more predictable form of renewable energy than wind and solar, wave energy will be a highly valuable addition to the global renewable energy mix. Bankable technology is the cornerstone when building a new industry. Having prestigious institutions like the EIB on board adds plenty of credibility to the equation.”
The Wave Energy Device project has the financial backing of the European Union under Horizon 2020. InnovFin is a range of EIB Group products designed to facilitate access to finance for innovative businesses.
InnovFin Energy Demonstration Projects provides loans, loan guarantees or equity-type investments of between EUR 7.5m and EUR 75m for innovative first-of-a-kind commercial-scale demonstration projects in the fields of renewable energy and hydrogen fuel cells, helping them to bridge the gap between demonstration and commercialisation.
Wave energy represents the largest untapped clean renewable energy resource, with a global potential greater than the capacity of all the installed fossil fuel plants in Europe combined.
AW-Energy has already successfully demonstrated the WaveRoller technology with a three-unit demonstration installation in Portugal, utilizing a fully commercial grid-connection license and providing power for the local population in 2012. The company also runs a world-unique test centre in Finland, which enables testing and fine-tuning of full-scale power take-off units in factory conditions.