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[1]
New wave: Sea power turned into energy at Los Angeles port
Floating blue paddles dance on the waves that lap a dock in the Port of Los Angeles, silently converting the power of the sea into usable electricity. This innovative installation may hold one of the keys to accelerating a transition away from fossil fuels that scientists say is necessary if the world is to avoid the worst effects of climate change. "The project is very simple and easy," Inna Braverman, co-founder of Israeli start-up Eco Wave Power, told AFP. Looking a little like piano keys, the floaters rise and fall with each wave. They are connected to hydraulic pistons that push a biodegradable fluid through pipes to a container filled with accumulators, which resemble large red scuba tanks. When the pressure is released, it spins a turbine that generates electrical current. If this pilot project convinces the California authorities, Braverman hopes to cover the entire 13-kilometer (eight-mile) breakwater protecting the port with hundreds of floaters that together would produce enough electricity to power 60,000 US homes. Supporters of the technology say wave energy is an endlessly renewable and always reliable source of power. Unlike solar power, which produces nothing at night, or wind power, which depends on the weather, the sea is always in motion. And there is a lot of it. Tough tech The waves off the American West Coast could theoretically power 130 million homes -- or supply around a third of the electricity used every year in the United States, according to the US Department of Energy. However wave energy remains the poor relation of other, better-known renewables, and has not been successfully commercialized at a large-enough scale. The history of the sector is full of company shipwrecks and projects sunk by the brutality of the high seas. Developing devices robust enough to withstand the fury of the waves, while transmitting electricity via underwater cables to the shore, has proven to be an impossible task so far. "Ninety-nine percent of competitors chose to install in the middle of the ocean, where it's super expensive, where it's breaking down all the time, so they can't really make projects work," Braverman said. With her retractable dock-mounted device, the entrepreneur believes she has found the answer. "When the waves are too high for the system to handle, the floaters just rise to the upward position until the storm passes, so you have no damage." The design appeals to Krish Thiagarajan Sharman, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. "The Achilles heel of wave energy is in the costs of maintenance and inspection," he told AFP. "So having a device close to shore, where you can walk on a breakwater and then inspect the device, makes a lot of sense." Sharman, who is not affiliated with the project and whose laboratory is testing various wave energy equipment, said projects tend to be suited to smaller-scale demands, like powering remote islands. "This eight-mile breakwater, that's not a common thing. It's a rare opportunity, a rare location where such a long wavefront is available for producing power," he said. AI power demand Braverman's Eco Wave Power is already thinking ahead, having identified dozens more sites in the United States that could be suitable for similar projects. The project predates Donald Trump's administration, but even before the political environment in Washington turned against renewables, the company was already looking beyond the US. In Israel, up to 100 homes in the port of Jaffa have been powered by waves since December. By 2026, 1,000 homes in Porto, Portugal should be online, with installations also planned in Taiwan and India. Braverman dreams of 20-megawatt projects, a critical capacity needed to offer electricity at rates that can compete with wind power. And, she said, the installations will not harm the local wildlife. "There's zero environmental impact. We connect to existent man-made structures, which already disturb the environment." Promises like this resonate in California, where the Energy Commission highlighted in a recent report the potential of wave energy to help the state achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. "The amount of energy that we're consuming is only increasing with the age of AI and data centers," said Jenny Krusoe, founder of AltaSea, an organization that helped fund the project. "So the faster we can move this technology and have it down the coastline, the better for California."
[2]
New wave: Sea power turned into energy at Los Angeles port
San Pedro (United States) (AFP) - Floating blue paddles dance on the waves that lap a dock in the Port of Los Angeles, silently converting the power of the sea into useable electricity. This innovative installation may hold one of the keys to accelerating a transition away from fossil fuels that scientists say is necessary if the world is to avoid the worst effects of climate change. "The project is very simple and easy," Inna Braverman, co-founder of Israeli start-up Eco Wave Power, told AFP. Looking a little like piano keys, the floaters rise and fall with each wave. They are connected to hydraulic pistons that push a biodegradable fluid through pipes to a container filled with accumulators, which resemble large red scuba tanks. When the pressure is released, it spins a turbine that generates electrical current. If this pilot project convinces the California authorities, Braverman hopes to cover the entire 13-kilometer (eight-mile) breakwater protecting the port with hundreds of floaters that together would produce enough electricity to power 60,000 US homes. Supporters of the technology say wave energy is an endlessly renewable and always reliable source of power. Unlike solar power, which produces nothing at night, or wind power, which depends on the weather, the sea is always in motion. And there is a lot of it. - Tough tech - The waves off the American West Coast could theoretically power 130 million homes -- or supply around a third of the electricity used every year in the United States, according to the US Department of Energy. However wave energy remains the poor relation of other, better-known renewables, and has not been successfully commercialized at a large-enough scale. The history of the sector is full of company shipwrecks and projects sunk by the brutality of the high seas. Developing devices robust enough to withstand the fury of the waves, while transmitting electricity via underwater cables to the shore, has proven to be an impossible task so far. "Ninety-nine percent of competitors chose to install in the middle of the ocean, where it's super expensive, where it's breaking down all the time, so they can't really make projects work," Braverman said. With her retractable dock-mounted device, the entrepreneur believes she has found the answer. "When the waves are too high for the system to handle, the floaters just rise to the upward position until the storm passes, so you have no damage." The design appeals to Krish Thiagarajan Sharman, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. "The Achilles heel of wave energy is in the costs of maintenance and inspection," he told AFP. "So having a device close to shore, where you can walk on a breakwater and then inspect the device, makes a lot of sense." Sharman, who is not affiliated with the project and whose laboratory is testing various wave energy equipment, said projects tend to be suited to smaller-scale demands, like powering remote islands. "This eight-mile breakwater, that's not a common thing. It's a rare opportunity, a rare location where such a long wavefront is available for producing power," he said. - AI power demand - Braverman's Eco Wave Power is already thinking ahead, having identified dozens more sites in the United States that could be suitable for similar projects. The project predates Donald Trump's administration, but even before the political environment in Washington turned against renewables, the company was already looking beyond the US. In Israel, up to 100 homes in the port of Jaffa have been powered by waves since December. By 2026, 1,000 homes in Porto, Portugal should be online, with installations also planned in Taiwan and India. Braverman dreams of 20-megawatt projects, a critical capacity needed to offer electricity at rates that can compete with wind power. And, she said, the installations will not harm the local wildlife. "There's zero environmental impact. We connect to existent man-made structures, which already disturb the environment." Promises like this resonate in California, where the Energy Commission highlighted in a recent report the potential of wave energy to help the state achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. "The amount of energy that we're consuming is only increasing with the age of AI and data centers," said Jenny Krusoe, founder of AltaSea, an organization that helped fund the project. "So the faster we can move this technology and have it down the coastline, the better for California."
[3]
New wave: Sea power turned into energy at Los Angeles port
Floating blue paddles dance on the waves that lap a dock in the Port of Los Angeles, silently converting the power of the sea into useable electricity. This innovative installation may hold one of the keys to accelerating a transition away from fossil fuels that scientists say is necessary if the world is to avoid the worst effects of climate change. "The project is very simple and easy," Inna Braverman, co-founder of Israeli start-up Eco Wave Power, said. Looking a little like piano keys, the floaters rise and fall with each wave. They are connected to hydraulic pistons that push a biodegradable fluid through pipes to a container filled with accumulators, which resemble large red scuba tanks. When the pressure is released, it spins a turbine that generates electrical current. If this pilot project convinces the California authorities, Braverman hopes to cover the entire 13-kilometer breakwater protecting the port with hundreds of floaters that together would produce enough electricity to power 60,000 U.S. homes. Supporters of the technology say wave energy is an endlessly renewable and always reliable source of power. Unlike solar power, which produces nothing at night, or wind power, which depends on the weather, the sea is always in motion. And there is a lot of it. The waves off the American West Coast could theoretically power 130 million homes -- or supply around a third of the electricity used every year in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. However, wave energy remains the poor relation of other, better-known renewables, and has not been successfully commercialized at a large-enough scale. The history of the sector is full of company shipwrecks and projects sunk by the brutality of the high seas. Developing devices robust enough to withstand the fury of the waves, while transmitting electricity via underwater cables to the shore, has proven to be an impossible task so far. "Ninety-nine percent of competitors chose to install in the middle of the ocean, where it's super expensive, where it's breaking down all the time, so they can't really make projects work," Braverman said. With her retractable dock-mounted device, the entrepreneur believes she has found the answer. "When the waves are too high for the system to handle, the floaters just rise to the upward position until the storm passes, so you have no damage." The design appeals to Krish Thiagarajan Sharman, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. "The Achilles heel of wave energy is in the costs of maintenance and inspection," he said. "So having a device close to shore, where you can walk on a breakwater and then inspect the device, makes a lot of sense." Sharman, who is not affiliated with the project and whose laboratory is testing various wave energy equipment, said projects tend to be suited to smaller-scale demands, like powering remote islands. "This eight-mile breakwater, that's not a common thing. It's a rare opportunity, a rare location where such a long wavefront is available for producing power," he said. Braverman's Eco Wave Power is already thinking ahead, having identified dozens more sites in the United States that could be suitable for similar projects. The project predates the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, but even before the political environment in Washington turned against renewables, the company was already looking beyond the U.S. In Israel, up to 100 homes in the port of Jaffa have been powered by waves since December. By 2026, 1,000 homes in Porto, Portugal should be online, with installations also planned in Taiwan and India. Braverman dreams of 20-megawatt projects, a critical capacity needed to offer electricity at rates that can compete with wind power. And, she said, the installations will not harm the local wildlife. "There's zero environmental impact. We connect to existent man-made structures, which already disturb the environment." Promises like this resonate in California, where the Energy Commission highlighted in a recent report the potential of wave energy to help the state achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. "The amount of energy that we're consuming is only increasing with the age of AI and data centers," said Jenny Krusoe, founder of AltaSea, an organization that helped fund the project. "So the faster we can move this technology and have it down the coastline, the better for California."
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Israeli start-up Eco Wave Power launches a pilot project in the Port of Los Angeles, converting sea waves into usable electricity. The innovative technology aims to provide renewable energy and contribute to California's carbon neutrality goals.
Israeli start-up Eco Wave Power has launched a groundbreaking pilot project in the Port of Los Angeles, showcasing a novel approach to harnessing wave energy. The installation features floating blue paddles that convert sea power into usable electricity, potentially offering a key solution in the transition away from fossil fuels
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.Source: Tech Xplore
The system employs a simple yet ingenious design. Floaters, resembling piano keys, rise and fall with the waves, activating hydraulic pistons. These pistons push a biodegradable fluid through pipes to accumulators, which then release pressure to spin a turbine, generating electrical current
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.If successful, the project could be scaled up to cover the entire 13-kilometer breakwater protecting the port. This expansion would generate enough electricity to power 60,000 US homes. Inna Braverman, co-founder of Eco Wave Power, envisions similar installations across the United States and globally
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.Wave energy offers distinct advantages over other renewable sources. Unlike solar power, which is inactive at night, or wind power, which depends on weather conditions, the sea is in constant motion. The US Department of Energy estimates that waves off the American West Coast could theoretically power 130 million homes, equivalent to about a third of the country's annual electricity consumption
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.The wave energy sector has faced significant hurdles in the past, with many projects failing due to the harsh conditions of the open sea. Eco Wave Power's approach differs by mounting the device on existing structures near the shore, making maintenance and inspection more manageable
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Krish Thiagarajan Sharman, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, commends the design for its practicality. While noting that such extensive breakwaters are rare, he acknowledges the potential for smaller-scale applications, such as powering remote islands
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.Eco Wave Power is already expanding globally, with projects in Israel, Portugal, Taiwan, and India. The company aims to develop 20-megawatt projects to compete with wind power rates. Importantly, Braverman claims the installations have zero environmental impact, as they connect to existing man-made structures
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.The project aligns with California's ambition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. Jenny Krusoe, founder of AltaSea, which helped fund the project, emphasizes the growing energy demands driven by AI and data centers. She believes rapid deployment of this technology along the coastline is crucial for California's sustainable future
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