KIT-IN-THE-WATER Database

Our kit-in-the-water database contains the most comprehensive data on ocean energy worldwide, including a historical record of projects as well as the latest data on projects in planning and construction. Extracts are available exclusively to our members upon request.

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FAQs

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Membership questions Ocean energy basics

Membership questions

How can I join OEE?

Joining OEE is very easy, you just have to complete our membership application form. Ready to join? Contact our Head of Membership y.conill@oceanenergy.eu

Who are OEE’s members?

Members come from all corners of the sector: technology developers, utilities, supply chain, consultancies, manufacturers, national/regional associations, research and academic institutions and test centres.

What are the main benefits of membership?

Ocean Energy Europe ‘s mission is to create a strong environment for the development of ocean energy, improve access to funding, and enhance business opportunities for its members.

Key Information about policy and funding: we create and share detailed briefings about all OE funding opportunities, so you are always informed and understand the intricacies of different EU programmes.
We engage with policy makers in the EU, nationally and regionally to make sure the right funding opportunities are created and supported, and act as the voice of the sector in advocating for the development and commercialisation of ocean energy.
A dedicated team of policy, projects and communications experts is available to membership, to answer any questions, help you find the right support and produce key sector publications. A dedicated members’ area hosts all webinars, briefings and event information.
Networking, profiling and knowledge sharing: our members’ only events and our annual conference are the best place for the sector to come together and share. Our events showcase the industry and allow members to network across the sector.

What is the cost of membership?

The membership annual fee is tied to the size of your organisation. To find out which category is right for you, contact our Head of Membership y.conill@oceanenergy.eu.

Ocean energy basics

What is ocean energy?

Ocean energy technologies exploit the power of tides and waves, as well as differences in temperature and salinity, to produce energy.

What is tidal energy?

The changing tides produce currents that can be harnessed by tidal turbines to generate clean, predictable renewable energy.

What is wave energy?

The physical movement of swells and waves can be captured and transformed into energy by wave energy converters (WECs).

What is Sea Water Air Conditioning (SWAC)?

SWAC plants use the difference between warm surface water and cold deep water to provide heating and cooling.

What is salinity gradient?

Using stacks of membranes, energy can be harvested from the difference in the salt concentration between seawater and fresh water.

What do ocean energy devices look like?

Tidal turbines come in a variety of shapes and sizes, including 2 or 3 blades attached to a rotor (similar to a wind turbine) or subsea ‘kites’. Some devices float, others sit on the seabed or in a seawall.

For wave energy converters, different designs cater for different sites and different wave strengths. Among common concepts are: large buoys that absorb the vertical movement of the waves; flaps anchored close to shore, which are pushed backwards and forward; floating hulls inside which air is compressed by wave movement; and floating rafts connected by a hinge.

SWAC and salinity gradient plants are typically buildings located on the shore that house a heat pump system including pipework, membrane, pumps, tanks etc.

How much electricity does an ocean energy device produce?

Today, the largest tidal turbines stand around 2MW and the most powerful wave energy converters around 1MW. This is comparable to a medium-sized onshore wind turbine. They respectively produce enough electricity to cover the consumption of 1900 and 700 average EU households for a year. SWAC plants can reach tens of MW, covering proportionally more households.

Why do we need ocean energy if we have wind and solar?

Ocean energy is a perfect partner to these mature renewables thanks to its very high predictability and the fact that it’s not dependent on the weather.

How predictable is ocean energy?

Tides, and therefore tidal energy, are generated by the pull of the moon and are fully predictable - even hundreds of years into the future. Wave conditions can be accurately measured hours and even days in advance, both for localised wind-generated waves’ and for ocean swells that travel for hundreds or thousands of kilometres. In warm sea areas, SWAC can generate energy on demand, at any time.

Where are ocean energy projects located?

The vast majority of ocean energy development is currently taking place in Europe. Numerous projects are located along the Atlantic and North Sea coasts of the UK, Ireland, France, Portugal, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Is ocean energy a good fit for islands?

Ocean energy is a set of flexible technologies, which can be developed at larger scales for mainstream ‘utility’ power, as well as at smaller scales for island systems. Islands are a natural fit for these technologies, as they are literally surrounded by the energy source.

Does ocean energy have environmental impacts?

All research shows that ocean energy has no significant impact on the environment. The impact of every ocean energy project is monitored closely to ensure that it stays environmentally friendly.

What are the economic benefits of ocean energy?

Ocean energy has numerous benefits beyond electricity production, ranging from local jobs and revitalisation of coastal economies to energy security or reduction in electricity price fluctuations.

Financing Ocean Energy to unlock its benefits

Different stages of technology development require different types of public support.

Early-stage innovation, such as single-device prototypes, need grant funding.

EU schemes like Horizon Europe and the Innovation Fund already provide grant funding for several projects. However, most Member Sates still lack the national revenue support needed to provide a business case and take deployments to the next level. A business case can only be made by a combination of grant and revenue support: contracts forof difference or feed-in tariffs.

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Technology leadership through sustained public investment Innovation Fund: a key instrument with room for improvement Financing farms to reach industrialisation

Financing farms to reach industrialisation

Ocean energy technologies have reached a critical moment in their development: the pre-commercial phase, where pilot farms are put in the water. This phase is capital intensive and requires higher levels of investment than RD&I prototypes.

Access to finance is crucial to de-risk ocean energy technologies and increase their competitiveness, but the cost of finance is high – up to 50% of the cost of the project.

Revenue support sustains industrial roll-out

Revenue support is needed at this stage to attract private capital into bankable projects. Currently, the cost per unit of electricity for innovative technologies is still above the market price. It needs to go down the cost curve, via economies of scale, reducing financing costs with technological improvements. Prices will plummet as the sector scales up, reducing the volume of public support required.

Revenue support is a proven approach. This market pull mechanism already worked to vastly reduced the costs of wind and solar which are now scaled-up industries worth billions. It’s also working in the ocean energy industry: national-level revenue support contracted a 140 MW project pipeline through 2029 in the UK, with an additional 250 MW of tenders announced in France. This has attracted unprecedented private investment, including from several energy majors.

Earmarked funding for ocean energy is needed

Governments should earmark support for ocean energy to make sure it is targeted and effective. This can be done by designating a specific budget or capacity per technology to be funded in auctions or public calls for tenders.

Competing with mature technologies based on cost alone will always crowd out innovative technologies. Earmarking or ‘ring-fencing’ helps emerging technologies establish a foothold in the market. This can replicate the cost reductions that wind and solar have already achieved. The UK’s earmarked funding through contract for difference (CfD) schemes have made it a leader in ocean energy.

Public funding attracts private investment

Revenue support is already mobilising private investment from several energy majors. Policies in France, the UK and the Faroe Islands are leading the way. This unlocked an unprecedented project pipeline of 196 MW across 19 farms in several countries and triggered investments from several utilities and energy majors.

Remove barriers by simplifying state aid

Despite their very small size and limited market impact, ocean energy pilot farms face the same state aid notification process as GW-scale projects. Due to low thresholds in the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER), national governments must ask the Commission for approval before they can support strategic sectors.

This is a problem for demonstration projects because the entire notification process can take 2 years or longer. This long wait results in deep uncertainty for SMEs and startups that are vulnerable to cash flow issues. Without timely approval, projects risk failure.

The prospect of the notification process deters Members States from backing innovation in the first place because the administrative burden is too important for a relatively small sector. The result is a missed opportunity for European technological leadership. A targeted exemption from notification for first-of-a-kind renewable demonstration projects would remove this barrier while contributing to competitiveness and simplification.

Environmental protection as a guiding principle

No environmental impact

Continuous monitoring and scientific observations show that ocean energy is environmentally friendly. In addition to producing zero-carbon electricity, ocean energy devices have never recorded a collision with a marine mammal. Ocean energy devices are relatively small and move slowly and predictably, which makes them very easy for marine life to avoid.

Underwater noise produced by ocean energy devices is significantly lower than ambient noise, i.e. from ships or other sources. Ocean energy devices may even improve biodiversity by providing habitats and shelter for marine life through the ‘artificial reef effect’.

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Continuous monitoring to minimise risk Simpler permitting for faster deployment Marine spatial plans need ocean energy

Supporting the grid with flexible ocean power

Helping electricity supply match demand

The electricity grid requires electricity that is cheap, secure, and zero-carbon. Wind and solar will provide the bulk of that electricity. To account for their variable production, several technologies and solutions are needed to provide flexibility on and off the grid. These include hydropower, storage, and demand management, as well as technologies like ocean energy.

Ocean energy complements wind and solar by producing at different times. A more diverse mix of renewables, results in a more consistent renewable production profile which is better able to meet hourly electricity demand. The ocean energy resource potential in Europe alone is 100 GW.

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Reducing grid management and balancing costs Predictable power eases system planning

100% Made in Europe

High local content

The ocean energy sector boasts 100% European content and up to 80% local country content, and nearly all foreign projects use European technology. This manufacturing edge can be retained as the sector scales up, boosting the resilience of Europe’s supply chain.

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Growing the blue economy with local manufacturing Long-term jobs in Europe Technological leadership creates export market Strategic technology under EU law

Europe’s next industrial success story

The EU recognises the value of ocean energy

The EU has recognised the value of ocean energy for its energy security, competitiveness, and grid flexibility objectives by setting installation targets. The Strategy for Offshore Renewable Energy foresees 1 GW by the early 2030s and 40 GW by 2050. The potential is even higher: 100 GW can be installed in Europe, equivalent to 10% of Europe’s power demand.

In 2024, the EU further recognised the strategic value of ocean energy for its industrial competitiveness by elevating it onto the list of net-zero technologies under the Net-Zero Industry Act.

These goals reflect Europe’s globally leading position – we have designed, built, and deployed more devices than the rest of the world combined and have the world’s biggest project pipeline.

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EU countries set ocean energy goals Ocean energy can deliver on EU objectives

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FAQs

Financing Ocean Energy to unlock its benefits

Technology leadership through sustained public investment

Innovation Fund: a key instrument with room for improvement

Financing farms to reach industrialisation

Revenue support sustains industrial roll-out

Earmarked funding for ocean energy is needed

Public funding attracts private investment

Remove barriers by simplifying state aid

Environmental protection as a guiding principle

No environmental impact

Continuous monitoring to minimise risk

Simpler permitting for faster deployment

Marine spatial plans need ocean energy

Supporting the grid with flexible ocean power

Helping electricity supply match demand

Reducing grid management and balancing costs

Predictable power eases system planning

100% Made in Europe

High local content

Growing the blue economy with local manufacturing

Long-term jobs in Europe

Technological leadership creates export market

Strategic technology under EU Law

Europe’s next industrial success story

The EU recognises the value of ocean energy

EU countries set ocean energy goals

Ocean energy can deliver on EU objectives