"Top" wave energy companies protect with patents

Global energy publication OGM.com has published its list of "top companies harnessing the power of wave innovation", stating that "Wave energy is an exciting renewable energy source with great potential for generating clean electricity from ocean waves".

First on the list is US company, Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) - OPT's floating PowerBuoy® platform "provides persistent, reliable, and cost-effective autonomous marine power and communications", acting as a self-recharging surface power source for onboard payloads, or for equipment on the seabed below. OPT owns a portfolio of more than 60 patents, with several more pending.

Next is Carnegie Clean Energy, based in Australia. Carnegie's CETO® technology is a fully submerged, point absorber type wave energy converter. "Carnegie’s CETO Intellectual Property portfolio consists of seven patent families and more than 90 patents and patents pending along with various trademarks."

Swedish company CorPower Ocean has developed Wave Energy Converters that are "inspired by the pumping principle of the human heart", and have four significant patented features which allow a large amount of energy to be harvested using a small and low-cost device. CorPower's CorPack wave clusters can be used as building blocks, which when put together can form gigawatt scale wave farms.

Fourth is Finnish company AW-Energy's WaveRoller® technology uses a submerged panel to capture the energy of ocean waves, which has a low visual impact. AW-Energy possesses an extensive patent portfolio, with over 70 patents globally and another 10+ pending, "creating a high degree of protection in a competitive space". WaveRoller® operates in near-shore areas (approximately 0.3-2km from the shore) at depths of between 8 and 20 metres.

Finally, Eco Wave Power is an Israel-based company specialising in floaters attached to existing structures such as breakwaters, piers, or jetties. "The whole operation of the system is controlled and monitored by a smart automation system ... when the waves are too high for the system to handle the floaters automatically rise above the water level and stay in the upward position until the storm passes". Eco Wave Power holds 17 patents and patents pending.

It is encouraging to see that each of the above companies are taking their intellectual property very seriously, and are protecting their valuable technology around the world.