Marine Power Systems (MPS) has called on the UK government to ramp up financial support and policy stability to allow wave energy to fulfil its economic and climate benefits.
In its Making Wave Power Work report, the Swansea developer said the government should move away from short-term cost concerns and focus on its long-term potential.
The report finds wave power could contribute to 10% of global electricity demand by 2050 but a lack of information for investors, government and the public on how wave power works needs to be addressed.
MPS director Gareth Stockman said: “With stable government policy, steady investment and joined up communications from industry partners, the wave energy industry can become an economic success story, following in the footsteps of more mature renewable technologies such as wind and solar to become a source of reliable, affordable, clean energy.”
MPS estimates the global wave power potential in 2050 at 337GW.
The company is developing a wave device named WaveSub financed using over £5m of private investment and grants.
A quarter-scale device will be launched for 12 months of sea tests at the FaBTest nursery site in Cornwall’s Falmouth.
Following testing, MPS will kick off a fresh round of fundraising to develop a full-scale device with plans to deploy a wave array by 2020.
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