Finnish company believes its wave energy can make green hydrogen below $2/kg

AW-Energy Oy, a Finland wave energy technology company, is entering the commercial hydrogen industry by combining its WaveRoller® and HydrogenHub process for the production of green hydrogen. It said that its technology could substantially reduce green hydrogen production costs.

Christopher Ridgewell, CEO of AW-Energy Oy, said “Wave energy holds the greatest potential to generate constant low-cost green hydrogen.”  He added that WaveRoller® process enables a green hydrogen plant to achieve higher production capacities at lower costs by complimenting wave energy with solar or wind.

Mr Ridgewell said that “We believe the collective ingenuity of our supply chain can deliver green hydrogen at less than US$2/kg. From an industry, technology and political perspective, we see no barriers to achieving this. It is time for energy operators and suppliers to work together with wave energy providers to scale-up to reduce costs.”

The WaveRoller is a device that converts ocean wave energy to electricity. It operates in near-shore areas (approximately 0.3-2 kilometres from the shore) at depths of between 8 and 20 meters. A single WaveRoller unit (one panel and PTO combination) is rated at between 350 kW and 1000 kW, with a capacity factor of 25-50% depending on wave conditions at the project site. A single panel absorbs 1.5-2 MW of power from the wave surge.

The back and forth movement of water driven by wave surge put the WaveRoller panel into motion. As the WaveRoller panel moves and absorbs the energy from ocean waves, hydraulic piston pumps attached to the panel pump hydraulic fluids inside a closed hydraulic circuit. The electrical output from this renewable wave energy power plant is then connected to the electric grid via a subsea cable. The technology can be deployed as single units or on farms.