Eco Wave Power
Harnessing Energy from the Ocean
by Dawn Emery Ballantine
Ocean energy is thought to be the next great frontier for reducing fossil fuel dependence. Unlike solar energy, which only works when the sun shines, or wind energy, which operates only when the wind blows, the ocean offers a constant source of wave power, as well as regularly-intervalled tidal power possibilities. Yet past projects with great potential—tidal turbines, ocean-harvested wind energy, and off-shore wave energy generators, to name a few—have faced significant obstacles, with very high price tags and equipment struggling to withstand the rigors of the harsh ocean environment.
Enter Inna Braverman and her company, Eco Wave Power (EWP). Currently a Swedish company which originated in Israel in 2011, Inna Braverman was only 24 years old when she launched EWP. Born in the Ukraine only two weeks before the Chernobyl nuclear disaster released an unprecedented amount of particulate matter and radioactive gases, she suffered respiratory arrest and was resuscitated by her mother. She has lived her life with the feeling that she was given a second chance to make a difference.
When Inna was young, her family moved to a town in Israel called Akko, with little to do but go to the beach. She was fascinated by the waves, but she didn’t become interested in waves as a source of power until her early twenties, after a stint at an environmental company. At that time, almost all wave energy projects were of an offshore nature and therefore were both exorbitantly expensive and suffered from a high failure rate. So, she became fascinated with the idea of developing an innovative wave energy technology which would be cost-efficient, reliable, environmentally friendly, and fully insurable. She came up with her own ideas of efficiently harnessing the power of onshore and nearshore waves. She was unable to do anything with her ideas, however, as she did not have the relevant contacts or the necessary financial resources. One day, she was invited to a social event where she met David Leb, a Canadian businessman and avid surfer, who shared a similar passion for wave power. They soon discovered their shared fascination with the potential energy that could be provided by the power of the ocean. Together, they birthed Eco Wave Power.
A Political Science/English Literature major and a businessman/surfing aficionado respectively, Braverman and Leb had to seek out both funding and engineering support to turn their ideas into a practical solution complete with sketches and blueprints. To that end, they made connections in the Ukraine, where they launched a competition between 300 engineers, ultimately choosing a team of five to make their ideas a reality. They subsequently rented a wave pool in the Hydromechanical Institute in Kiev to test different floater shapes, then increased the size of the system and installed it in the Crimean peninsula in the Ukraine, where the waters and weather are harsh. If the equipment can withstand the brutal conditions there, it increases the potential locations where they can be installed around the world. In 2014, they moved the floaters to Israel at Jaffa Port, the oldest port in the world. They then successfully developed the only grid-connected wave energy array system in Gibraltar, which has been operating in since 2016. In fact, they set a world record in 2018 by providing more than 15,000 hours of grid-connected power.
Braverman attributes her success to her deep passion for the project. She feels that “passion is the greatest renewable energy source.” She is particularly interested in bringing power from renewable energy to developing countries, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, where 70% of people are not connected to any source of electricity.
Approximately 40% of the world’s population—2.4 billion people—live within 62 miles of a coast. “Wave energy alone can produce twice the amount of electricity that the world produces now,“ says Braverman, noting that The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change believes that it offers a potential of 32,000 TWh of electricity. Unlike many ocean power technologies currently being developed, the Eco Wave modules are not installed off-shore or embedded into the sea floor. Instead, the floater modules are appended to already existing structures such as piers, jetties, and breakwaters.
Braverman explained, “The floaters are going up and down, pushing hydro cylinders, creating pressure in land-located accumulators, and this pressure is used to turn a hydro motor, which turns generators, which produce clean electricity to the grid.” The floaters begin operating when the waves are between half a meter and five meters high. If the waves are higher than that, or if a storm rolls in, an automated fail-safe function is activated, and the floaters either raise into a locked position above sea level, or they lock into a safe position deeper in the water to avoid damage. When the danger abates, the floaters automatically resume their power-generating position. The remainder of the power generation system is on land, which considerably reduces installation costs, as well as mitigating seawater and storm damage to costly equipment.
According to EWP, and verified by third party testing, the technology is environmentally friendly, has no negative
impact on the surrounding environment, and does not release any emissions. Yair Rudick, Business Development manager at EWP, said, “When designing our technology, we made the strategic decision to install our system on existing marine structures to avoid introducing new presence into the ocean environment and ensure that the local marine environment remains undisturbed. We also put an emphasis on ensuring that all the materials and components used in our system meet the highest environmental standards. For example, the hydraulic fluid used in the Eco Wave Power technology is bio-degradable … Furthermore, our system does not pose any problems for fishermen, as our floaters function in much the same way as boats moored to the relevant marine structure.”
EWP has just secured a development grant for the Sea Wave Energy Powered Microgrid for Remote Islands and Rural Coasts project. Braverman explained, “Wave energy is an immense source of renewable energy which can become greatly beneficial for Island and coastal communities that often have to rely on capital intensive and polluting solutions … The use of wave energy in such locations will lower the pollution levels while creating a new local industry and work places, which presents an additional set of benefits to the local population.” She noted that they have recently dual-listed Eco Wave Power on the U.S. NASDAQ (Stock Symbol: WAVE) and were successful in obtaining funding for the execution of the EWP’s near-future plans, which include the goal to expand their technology to the U.S.—the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world—including coastal California. These goals are in line with the Biden Administration’s stated desire to more fully develop alternative power sources and make tackling climate change one of their top priorities. She urged, “The time to act is now! . . . The potential of wave energy in the country is estimated at 3,500 TWh per year.”
Eco Wave Power has received the United National Global Climate Action Award, among many other commendations, and has secured 17 patents and patents pending for their clean wave energy generating technology, with one of the pending patents for adding solar panels on top of the floater arrays to generate additional energy. The company’s technology is comparatively cost effective, roughly the same as solar energy and a bit cheaper than wind energy. Their stance is that the world will only reduce its dependence on fossil fuels by utilizing multiple renewable energy methods in tandem, including solar, wind, hydro, and other non-polluting energy sources.
With projects in the pipeline in Brazil, Chile, Vietnam, Mexico, China, Portugal, Israel, U.K., Scotland, Gibraltar, Thailand, and other locations, and with passionate people like Braverman and Leb at the helm of this unique company, perhaps we can reverse our current climate woes and move into a healthier future. Ms. Braverman said, “Our mission is changing the world! And yes, I need you to help me. I cannot stand alone.” Let’s spread the word about this emerging technology and do our part to move fossil fuels to the past, where they belong.
Eco Wave Power
52 Derech Menachem Begin St., Tel Aviv-Yafo, 6713701, Israel
+972-3-509-4017 | EcoWavePower.com
Dawn Emery Ballantine lives in Anderson Valley where she curates and sells books at her tiny bookshop, Hedgehog Books, edits this magazine, and has always been awed by the power of the ocean.
