Eco Wave Power Completes Pilot Project at Los Angeles Port Demonstrating Cost-Effective Wave Energy
Key Highlights
- The LA pilot operated under real marine conditions with a capital expenditure below $1 million, validating cost-effectiveness.
- Eco Wave Power's technology leverages floating devices that convert wave motion into hydraulic energy, then into electricity on land.
- The collaboration with Shell included a feasibility study identifying 77 suitable U.S. coastal sites for wave energy deployment.
Onshore wave energy startup Eco Wave Power Global has completed its operational pilot project along the coastal edge of the Port of Los Angeles, generating cost-effective and carbon-free electricity out of ocean movement.
Eco Wave Power worked with Shell International Exploration and Production on the pilot testing which operated under real marine conditions and kept its capital expenditure below $1 million doing so.
"Successfully completing this project with Shell is a strong validation of our technology, execution capabilities, and commercial potential,” Eco Wave Power founder and CEO Inna Braverman said in a statement. “As energy demand continues to grow—particularly with the rise of artificial intelligence—we believe wave energy can play a key role in delivering clean, predictable power directly where it is needed most: nearshore, close to population centers and industrial infrastructure."
The Port of Los Angeles demonstration offers potential proof of concept for wave energy technology, the company says while noting support from other sectors. AI computing chip giant NVIDIA’s CEO Jensen Huang even highlighted the Eco Wave Power technology during his keynote presentation at the NVIDIA GRC Conference, highlighting connections between renewable energy infrastructure and AI.
A comparative wave power demonstration project by the company along the shoreline in Israel has achieved average power generation of about 20 kWh during higher wave conditions of approximately three meters, according to reports. Power generation capacity peaked at 56 kW.
Eco Wave Power has submitted its final Port of LA project completion report to Shell. It showed no adverse environmental impact and demonstrated deployment on existing coastal infrastructure such as ports, with no seabed anchoring or offshore construction required.
“February was an important month for us operationally,” CEO Braverman noted in speaking about the Israeli project. “Not only did we continue stable production during moderate wave conditions, but we also experienced the highest waves recorded at our site to date. Achieving record average and peak power production during 3-meter wave events provides meaningful validation of our technology’s performance potential as we scale toward commercial projects.”
The collaboration between Eco Wave Power and Shell started with a large-scale feasibility study, which recognized 77 potential U.S. coastal sites suitable for wave energy deployment. The pilot project provides an example for real-world implementation, strengthening Eco Wave Power's ability to seek projects with global energy companies.
Eco Wave Power’s system utilizes floaters which draw energy from incoming waves by converting rising and falling motion into the power generation process. Floater movement compresses and decompresses hydraulic pistons which transmit bio-degradable flu into land-located accumulators, where building pressure rotates a hydraulic motor and advances an attached generator to create electricity.