The Demand for In-Situ Power.
Energy is the cornerstone of civilization. The anticipated explosive growth of the Blue Economy, with its myriad of off-grid applications, makes in-situ renewable energy financially competitive and operationally essential.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has identified marine aquaculture, ocean observing, marine robotics, biofuels, and seawater mineral extraction as high-growth industries that require reliable, decentralized power.
Furthermore, remote coastal and island communities are aggressively driving demand as they seek total energy independence from imported fossil fuels.
Market Projections.
Ocean-related industries are scaling rapidly, creating an unprecedented demand for environmentally compatible power generation.
The OECD reports ocean-related industries contribute over $1.5 trillion to the global economy annually, a figure projected to double by 2030.
The UK Carbon Trust estimates that the global wave and tidal energy market could reach a valuation of $572 billion between 2010 and 2050.
The global market for wave and tidal energy is forecasted to experience massive acceleration, reaching a revised size of $5.1 billion by 2027.
Preliminary surveys show a global ocean current potential exceeding 450,000 MW, representing an untapped market greater than $550 billion.
Expected to reach $645.1 billion by 2027. VIVACE uniquely expands this market by harvesting river energy without the need for destructive dams.
As of 2022, globally extractable energy purely from river mouths is equivalent to 3% of total global electricity output.
Harvesting Slow Flows.
The primary challenge of Marine Hydrokinetic (MHK) energy is velocity. The vast majority of ocean currents flow slower than 3 knots, and typical rivers slower than 2 knots.
Standard turbines require an average of 5-7 knots to be financially viable. VIVACE bridges this massive market gap by operating efficiently in flows as slow as 0.5m/s.
U.S. MHK Potential
Data Source: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
The DOE estimates that 2,051 TWh/yr (7.0 Quad/yr) of horizontal MHK energy is theoretically available in the USA alone.
| Resource | Theoretical (Quads/y) | Practical (Quads/y) |
|---|---|---|
| Tidal Stream | 1.5 | 1.1 |
| Riverine Currents | 4.7 | 0.4 |
| Ocean Currents | 0.7 | 0.6 |
| Total Potential | 7.0 | 2.1 |
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) SBIR/STTR TABA
Customized Market Research Report.
Prepared exclusively for Vortex Hydro Power by the LARTA Institute (February 2023) regarding the Integrated Current-Wave Hydrokinetic Energy Harvester for Community Resilience.
Objectives & Executive Summary
Vortex Hydro Power is interested in the market data on marine hydrokinetic energy (non-turbine) or market data for small turbine applications. The information about the energy from currents/tides/rivers is highly relevant to this analysis.
Ocean Energy Market Overview
Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for ocean energy (tidal stream & wave) was estimated at 58.7 thousand kilowatts (kW) in 2020 and is projected to reach a revised size of 348.1 thousand kW by 2026, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 35.4% over the analysis period.
By value, the global market for wave & tidal energy was estimated at $542.8 million in 2020 and is forecasted to reach a revised size of $5.1 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 37.7%. Tidal energy is projected to record 36.2% CAGR and reach $4.5 billion by the end of the analysis period.
The United Kingdom's (UK's) Carbon Trust estimated that the global wave and tidal energy market could be worth up to €535 billion (approximately $572 billion) between 2010 and 2050.
Marine Hydrokinetic Energy Market Overview
Hydroelectric power relies upon natural water flow or stored water from rivers, canals, dams, and reservoirs, making hydropower a renewable energy source. Energy generated from rivers is fundamental for global and local economics. As of 2022, the globally extractable energy from river mouths was 625 terawatt-hours (TWh)/year, equivalent to 3% of global electricity.
The global installed capacity of hydroelectric power stood at 1,364.7 gigawatts (GW) in 2021 and is expected to reach 1,614.8 GW by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 2.5%. APAC will be the largest region, among others.
Global Hydroelectric Power Market Volume, by Region (GW)
| Region | 2021 | 2022 | 2027 | CAGR% (22-27) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | 203.8 | 211.9 | 233.8 | 2.0% |
| Asia-Pacific | 551.0 | 576.8 | 658.8 | 2.7% |
| Europe | 316.1 | 329.9 | 371.4 | 2.4% |
| South America | 240.5 | 252.0 | 292.3 | 3.0% |
| MEA | 53.3 | 55.4 | 58.5 | 1.1% |
| Total | 1,364.7 | 1,425.9 | 1,614.8 | 2.5% |
By value, the global hydroelectric power market was estimated at $440 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $645.1 billion by 2027 by growing at a CAGR of 6.5%.
Global Hydroelectric Power Market Value, by Region ($ Millions)
| Region | 2021 | 2022 | 2027 | CAGR% (22-27) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | 74,059.4 | 78,806.6 | 105,147.2 | 5.9% |
| Asia-Pacific | 170,066.0 | 182,220.8 | 253,191.9 | 6.8% |
| South America | 89,422.8 | 95,784.3 | 134,820.7 | 7.1% |
| Europe | 90,891.9 | 97,015.3 | 132,240.4 | 6.4% |
| MEA | 15,504.6 | 16,364.6 | 19,674.8 | 3.8% |
| Total | 439,944.7 | 470,191.6 | 645,075.0 | 6.5% |
Wave power Market size and forecast 2017-2022 (GWh) showing 21.03% CAGR.
By 2050, the wave energy capacity is projected to be 236 GW. Wave Energy Converters (WECs) can supply the world with up to 60,000 TWh/year. WECs are a type of non-turbine marine hydrokinetic energy. Currently, the worldwide potential of wave power resources was estimated to be around 2 TW, of which 4.6% was predicted to be extractable by deploying a specific WEC. The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) identified 243 WEC concepts in 2019.
Number of device concepts and TRL Achieved. Point absorbers are the most common type developed.
Geographic distribution of WEC developers (EU 64% vs ROW 36%).
International wave energy projects were severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Several full-scale deployments were delayed. Five devices were installed beyond Europe, of which four were full-scale prototypes.
Annual and Cumulative capacity additions (kW) Europe vs. Rest of the world (2010-2021).
Wave Energy Deployments Beyond Europe (As of 2021)
| Country | Developer | Type | Capacity (kW) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Wave Swell Energy | OWC | 200 |
| Chile | OPT | Point absorber | 3 |
| China | Hangzhou Huge Wave | Point absorber | 0.3 |
| USA | Calwave | Point absorber | Unknown |
| China | GIEC | Attenuator | 500 |
Small-scale WEC Projects Overview
Defining what constitutes a small-scale WEC is not a straightforward issue. Most definitions depend on government policies or technical issues. According to researchers, power capacity sizes are divided into micro (0-5 kW), small (5 kW-5 MW), medium (5 MW-50 MW), and large (50 MW-300 MW). Pico (up to 5 kW) and micro scales are generally isolated, off-grid systems.
In 2020, the U.S. Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) awarded new R&D project funding for marine energy technologies. Selected small businesses and their projects include:
Oscilla Power
Integrated Wave Power Charging Capability for Ocean Observing Vehicles to extend the range of AUV missions.
Ocean Motion Technologies
Leveraging Co-Development for the Energy Capture Subsystem of a Small-Scale Adaptive WEC to optimize power output based on ambient environments.
Columbia Power Technologies
Wave Energy Power Generation System for Hybrid Oil and Gas Drill Rigs (RigRAY design) to validate renewable power paths for remote offshore platforms.
Triton Systems
Wave Energy Harvesting to Power Ocean Buoys, focusing on WEC designs that can double available power for unattended buoy systems.
Resolute Marine Energy
Nereus Powering AUVs using Ocean Waves, developing a reliable power source for underwater docking and recharge stations.
Recent Developments in Marine Energy
Columbia Power Technologies received $3 million in DOE funding to deploy a low-power WEC (dataRAY) for maritime sensors and AUV recharging.
CorPower Ocean invested €16 million into an R&D and manufacturing center in Portugal to support its HiWave-5 flagship project, and unveiled its first commercial-scale WEC (C4) in 2022 to form part of a grid-connected wave farm.
Mocean Energy secured £730,000 in equity funding in 2022 to advance the design of its Blue Star wave machine, targeted for subsea oil and gas, defense, offshore wind, and ocean science markets.
Sigma Energy has mathematically proven and tank-tested an original mechanical PTO system transforming vertical buoy motion into electric energy.
NREL & WPTO released the Small WEC Analysis tool in 2022, an online graphical user interface offering baseline data to help funders and researchers evaluate small WEC performance.
Conclusion
By value, the global market for wave & tidal energy was estimated at $542.8 million in 2020 and is forecasted to reach a revised size of $5.1 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 37.7%. The UK's Carbon Trust estimated that the global wave and tidal energy market could be worth up to €535 billion between 2010 and 2050.
Ocean currents are one of the largest untapped renewable energy resources on the planet, representing a market of more than $550 billion. By value, the global hydroelectric power market is expected to reach $645.1 billion by 2027.
WECs can supply the world with up to 60,000 TWh/year. There are currently more than 1,000 WEC prototypes spread around the world, signaling massive technological scaling and commercial opportunity in the immediate future.