CalWave

Waves

to

Watts & Water!

CalWave Power Technologies Inc. provides a solution to harness the renewable power of ocean waves to produce electricity and freshwater. CalWave’s patented Wave Energy Converter (WEC) is moored offshore, simple and scalable. Our initial shallow water approach was inspired by the ability of a muddy seafloor to effectively absorb over passing ocean waves within only a few wavelengths. Our patented solution operates submerged, allowing it to survive stormy seas while causing no visual pollution or posing any collision danger.

CalWave Power Technologies is a winner of the US Wave Energy Prize by meeting the threshold to double the energy captured from ocean waves compared to the state of the art. Link to prize homepage for details of the metrics and scoring: http://waveenergyprize.org/teams

An essential piece of the clean energy puzzle

According to the Department of Energy, wave energy has the potential to power over 100 million US homes, but is completely underutilized at the moment. Wave energy has the advantage of higher predictability, nighttime availability, and significantly higher energy density (~30 kW/m of coastline). Such high energy densities also enable the use of the renewable resource for desalination.

Solar Energy Capacity Factor 26%
Wind Energy Capacity Factor 33%
Wave Energy Capacity Factor 40%

Data Source: EIA Electric Power Monthly 2015

Inspired by nature

The ability of muddy seafloors to dampen ocean waves is well documented at various locations around the world. In the Gulf of Mexico, the wave–mud interaction is so strong that the storm waves are damped within 100–200 m! We used this idea to design a wave-energy converter that responds just like mud to harness the energy of waves passing overhead.

Technological Advantages

This Wave Carpet design has distinct technological advantages:

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Survivable

Due to the fact that the carpet is fully submerged, it is able to survive the strong momentum of stormy seas.

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Passive

The device poses no visual pollution to the ocean surface and no collision danger to boats and sea life.

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Simple

High, broadband and omnidirectional absorption efficiency of ocean waves.

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Scalable

The modular design allows the device to scale in width for setting a desired output power capacity.

Latest Updates

New years wishes and 2017 highlights.

Jan 13, 2018

Dear friends and colleagues of CalWave, We hope you had a wonderful holiday break, and we sincerely wish you a peaceful and joyful 2018. 2017 was a great year for CalWave and we are delighted to share some of our highlights with you. Here a link to our annual... read more

Breakout Labs supports CalWave with research grant.

Jan 3, 2018

Breakout Labs supports CalWave with research grant. Breakout Labs supports early stage companies as they transition radical scientific discoveries out of the lab and into the market. The foundation backs scientist entrepreneurs working at the intersections of... read more