Bringing Structure to the Wave Energy Innovation Process with the Development of a Techno-Economic Tool

Owain Roberts, Jillian Catherine Henderson, Anna Garcia-Teruel, Donald R. Noble, Inès Tunga, Jonathan Hodges, Henry Jeffrey and Tim Hurst
Additional contact information
Owain Roberts: Wave Energy Scotland, An Lochran, 10 Inverness Campus, Inverness IV2 5NA, UK
Jillian Catherine Henderson: Wave Energy Scotland, An Lochran, 10 Inverness Campus, Inverness IV2 5NA, UK
Anna Garcia-Teruel: School of Engineering, Institute for Energy Systems, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3DW, UK
Donald R. Noble: School of Engineering, Institute for Energy Systems, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3DW, UK
Inès Tunga: Infrastructure & Engineering, Energy Systems Catapult, Birmingham B4 6BS, UK
Jonathan Hodges: Wave Energy Scotland, An Lochran, 10 Inverness Campus, Inverness IV2 5NA, UK
Henry Jeffrey: School of Engineering, Institute for Energy Systems, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3DW, UK
Tim Hurst: Wave Energy Scotland, An Lochran, 10 Inverness Campus, Inverness IV2 5NA, UK

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 24, 1-25

Abstract: Current wave energy development initiatives assume that available designs have the potential for success through continuous learning and innovation-based cost reduction. However, this may not be the case, and potential winning technologies may have been overlooked. The scenario creation tool presented in this paper provides a structured method for the earliest stages of design in technology development. The core function of the scenario creation tool is to generate and rank scenarios of potential Wave Energy Converter (WEC) attributes and inform the user on the areas of the parameter space that are most likely to yield commercial success. This techno-economic tool uses a structured innovation approach to identify commercially attractive and technically achievable scenarios, with a scoring system based on their power performance and costs. This is done by leveraging performance and cost data from state-of-the-art wave energy converters and identifying theoretical limits to define thresholds. As a result, a list of scored solutions is obtained depending on resource level, wave energy converter hull shape, size, material, degree of freedom for power extraction, and efficiency. This scenario creation tool can be used to support private and public investors to inform strategy for future funding calls, and technology developers and researchers in identifying new avenues of innovation.

Keywords: wave energy; structured innovation; scenario creation; technical achievability; commercial attractiveness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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