Iliad’s wave power energy pilot: transforming seas into sustainable energy sources

One of the interesting pilot sites run by the EU-funded Iliad Project is operated by Iliad partner Eco Wave Power which is testing and validating various wave sensors collecting the wave data from the location of its 100kW Wave Energy Converter in Jaffa Port, Israel.

The site is one of Iliad’s 22 pilot sites where its innovative Digital Twins of the Ocean (DTO) technologies are being employed to address different challenges all over Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

Eco Wave Power’s technology will assist in providing countries with an innovative reliable clean energy source. From an ecological point of view, wave energy is a key renewable energy source for climate change mitigation.

The data collected by the project will be used to conduct future efficient site assessments for wave energy converter technology implementation. This data is helping to advance Wave Energy Converter technology to identify the energy generation potential for sites around the world under various sea states.

At the Iliad General Assembly, held on December 2023 in Barcelona, Yuval Shavit from Eco Wave Power highlighted the progress of the Iliad pilot of turning ocean and sea waves into green electricity.

As part of the project, Eco Wave Power is planning to test three sensors to provide the Iliad pilot with real wave data.

• Wave buoy - The buoy is deployed 15 meter in front of the floaters above 4m deep water. The sensor is the ‘Obscape OBS-BUOY 7WWave Buoy’ and can measure the directional wave spectrum, wave height, and period in real-time. It is a wireless sensor that sends the data via a cellular network.
• TalTech HydroMast V2.0 sensor - The sensor is a submerged sensor that is deployed ten meters in front of the floaters at a depth of 2 meters. It is connected to the seafloor via a bolt and mounting assembly and provides real-time wave data to the site.
• Wave radar - The radar delivers real-time water level measurements and wave period data. The sensor uses an ultrasonic sensor to measure the variations in the water levels which is then used by the wave energy station for its operational needs.

The data from the sensors will be used to select future sites for wave energy converter technology by comparing wave data with power output. It will also provide safety notifications to set the system into ‘Storm Protection Mode.’

Eco Wave is planning to provide the Iliad partners with the data from the sensors to compare the sensors and to validate the TalTech HydroMast V2.0.

Eco Wave Power is an onshore wave energy technology company that developed a patented, smart and cost-efficient technology for turning ocean and sea waves into green electricity. Eco Wave Power's mission is to assist in the fight against climate change by enabling commercial power production from the ocean and sea waves.

At the start of the new year Eco Wave announced that it has commenced sending clean electricity from its EWP-EDF One project in Jaffa Port, to the Israeli national electric grid. This is the first time in the history of the state of Israel, that wave energy is transmitted to the national electrical grid.