CorPower Ocean secures €40m grant for 10MW wave energy farm

CorPower Ocean has secured a €40 million ($47 million) grant from the EU Innovation Fund to support the development of the VianaWave project off the coast of northern Portugal.

VianaWave, a pre-commercial 10MW wave energy farm, will feature a CorPack consisting of 30 Wave Energy Converters (WECs), generating approximately 30GWh of power annually.

The project is set to begin operating by 2029 and is considered a milestone on CorPower's path from pilot-scale demonstrations to commercialisation.

Viana do Castelo site visit: Preparing wave energy farms of the future

CorPower Ocean commercial director Kevin Rebenius commented on the announcement: “This is a pivotal milestone for CorPower Ocean and the wave energy sector as a whole. VianaWave shows that wave energy is ready to scale.

"With strong support from the Innovation Fund and the Portuguese ecosystem, we are accelerating the transition to a sustainable, resilient energy system while delivering local economic value.”

Have you read?
Orkney: small islands with global ambitions for marine energy
Minesto-led consortium awarded €2.25m for tidal energy power plant

The funding will be used to finance project infrastructure development, as well as other onshore facilities. According to CorPower, this will include the expansion of electrical infrastructure in Agucadoura and Póvoa de Varzim, and the development of CorPower Ocean’s operational base at the Port of Viana do Castelo.

The project has the potential to significantly boost the local economy, states CorPower, with an estimated 75% of the project’s lifetime value being spent within the country. This will help grow industrial supply chains and attract further investment into the clean tech sector.

Portugal’s National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) has set a goal of installing 200MW of wave energy capacity by 2030 and the country has worked on creating an environment that fosters the development of clean energy innovation.

Portugal is also home to Eco Wave Power's commercial-scale wave energy project in Porto. According to Inna Braverman, founder and CEO of Eco Wave Power, the country is an attractive location for developers due to its long coastline and an easy-to-navigate regulatory framework.