Wave tech makes a splash
A WA renewable energy startup took to the stage at last week’s SXSW Sydney.
A wave energy startup stepped into the spotlight at a prestigious pitch event last week, winning the climate category.
Western Australia-based ocean energy company WaveX went on to compete in the finals of the pitch event which took place at SXSW Sydney at the ICC last week.
Other pitches in the category came from Brisbane-based CO₂ removal company Carbonaughts and Victorian leaf protein company The Leaf Protein Company to a packed crowd, as reported by Smart Company.
The SXSW festival featured more than 1,000 speakers and numerous networking sessions focusing on tech, innovation, games, music, and screen. The SXSW Sydney Pitch, one of the event highlights, saw WaveX rise above the competition in the climate tech and sustainability category on day three.
The judges - EnergyLab CEO Megan Fisher, Lucetia Group CEO Georgie Skipper, and Square Peg VC partner James Tynan - unanimously advanced WaveX to the finals.
In his pitch, WaveX co-founder and former marine engineer Simon Renwick described the startup’s wave energy generators as large cylindrical structures connected in groups of three to generate electricity on an industrial scale.
"I was humbled to reach the finals of what is probably one of Australia’s toughest pitching stages at SXSW Sydney"
Reflecting on the competition, Renwick said, “It’s a far cry from what I used to do as a marine engineer, and I was humbled to reach the finals of what is probably one of Australia’s toughest pitching stages at SXSW Sydney.
"Out of the hundreds of entrants, we actually came top 3, which was an incredible moment.”
WaveX was founded by a group of offshore engineers seeking to apply their skills to the green economy. Their system is based on proven oil and gas structures, they say, and uses traditional materials and fabrication techniques with no underwater moving parts.
To date, the startup says, it has successfully tested scale models, with tank tests at the University of Western Australia validating their performance. Next comes a large-scale prototype with plans for deployment by 2025.
The big picture
Australia is lagging behind global wave energy developments despite having the world’s largest wave energy resources, according to a recent report by the Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre (CRC). The US Department of Energy, in contrast, recently committed US$112.5 million over five years to accelerate wave energy technology development.
With Australia’s south and southwest coasts offering prime wave power levels, the CRC report recommended key steps to help the country lead in wave energy, including integrating it into national energy planning, securing more consistent funding, and sharing data across jurisdictions.
The WaveX wave energy generators are large cylindrical structures connected in groups of three and are designed to generate electricity on an industrial scale. The design is based on proven oil and gas structures and uses traditional materials and fabrication techniques with no underwater moving parts. Scale models have been tested in tanks at the University of Western Australia and the startup says it has plans for a large-scale prototype deployment by 2025.
