Arup Teams Up with WaveX to Revolutionize Wave Energy Technology

7:07 pm UTC March 22, 2025 Mar 22, 2025 | by: Arup | Energy

(Photo by: Arup)

Arup will collaborate with WaveX on the development of its D-Spar™ wave energy generator, an innovative system that converts ocean wave power into clean, renewable electricity.

Arup and WaveX, a wave energy technology company based in Perth, Australia, have entered into two Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) to collaborate on advancing wave energy technologies.

Under these agreements, Arup will assist WaveX in designing its D-Spar™ wave-powered generator—a next-generation self-reacting wave energy system with no moving parts underwater, aimed at converting the power of ocean waves into renewable electricity.

The partnership will begin with a focus on designing the electrical systems and power transfer unit for the D-Spar™, working in conjunction with Trident Energy’s technology. In addition, a separate study will explore the use of Arup’s proprietary shared mooring system in a large-scale D-Spar™ project planned for the southern coast of Western Australia.

This collaboration represents a major milestone in leveraging wave energy to produce green electricity at scale, addressing global energy needs. Despite its vast potential, wave energy remains one of the last renewable resources to be commercially tapped.

WaveX aims to deploy the D-Spar™ technology in Western Australia by late 2025, demonstrating the combined expertise of both companies. The project seeks to contribute to the Ocean Energy Systems roadmap goal of generating 300GW of wave and tidal energy globally by 2050.

The D-Spar™ system is poised to play a vital role in the energy transition. It offers a reliable power source when wind and solar are unavailable, reducing the need for costly grid-scale batteries. The WaveX-Arup collaboration is expected to drive further innovation in marine renewable energy, benefiting coastal regions worldwide, where over 3 billion people live within 100km of the coast.

Simon Renwick, CEO of WaveX, commented: “This collaboration with Arup enables us to enhance our D-Spar™ system with Arup’s best-in-class electrical design and potential game-changing shared mooring design, making the D-Spar™ a robust solution for large-scale global wave energy projects. We are excited to work with Arup as we push the boundaries of wave energy innovation with our revolutionary method of harnessing the power in the ocean’s waves.”

Damon Sunderland, Arup’s Australasia Offshore Wind Lead, said: “Our collaboration with WaveX provides an opportunity to develop an innovative and cost-effective electrical topology that aligns with the WaveX vision for harnessing wave energy. We are also excited to work with WaveX to demonstrate our novel approach to shared mooring design, which provides performance advantages in shallow to very deep waters and is readily scalable to large arrays of floating energy devices. We think it offers a path to increase profitability for commercial-scale arrays by maximizing energy production density, reducing cost of components, and increasing survivability. We see great potential combined with the D-Spar™ and are excited to carry out this work with WaveX.”