Decarbonisation of offshore assets through ISWEC

The European Climate Law, entered into force in July 2021, has set the legally binding target of net-zero Green-House Gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 and, at the same time, the target for 2030 of reducing the net GHG emissions by at least 55% as compared to levels in 1990. To meet such ambitious targets, the Law specifies that “it is essential to ensure a transition to a safe, sustainable, affordable and secure energy system relying on the deployment of renewables”. Offshore renewable energy, including wave energy, could help meeting the targets set by the Law, according to the Sustainable Blue Economy strategy.
The seas and the oceans are one of the largest untapped sources of renewable energy on the planet. In particular, the energy associated to sea and / or ocean waves is characterised by high density, high predictability, and low short-term variability. Such features make wave energy suitable to complement wind and solar energy in a future world mostly (if not entirely) powered by renewables.
The Inertial Sea Wave Energy Converter (ISWEC), developed by Eni with Wave for Energy srl (spin-off of Politecnico di Torino), is able to convert sea and / or ocean waves into electricity; it can be anchored at a range of water depths, making it immediately available to power coastal communities and small islands or to decarbonise offshore assets / activities.
The ISWEC is a wave energy converter of the inertial type. It consists of a sealed, floating hull, moored to the seabed, which contains two gyroscopic systems connected to two electrical generators. The wave-induced pitching motion of the hull causes a change in the angular momentum of each gyroscopic system which, in turn, reacts applying a torque about the axis of the related electrical generator.
An ISWEC scaled prototype was installed by Eni in the Adriatic Sea in 2019. In early 2023, the first full-scale ISWEC system was deployed off the Pantelleria Island, Sicily.
This action aims to accelerate the development of ISWEC (and, potentially, other wave energy technologies) to power coastal communities and small islands and to support decarbonisation of offshore assets related to e.g. oil & gas, aquaculture, etc., thus contributing to the Mission “Restore our Ocean and waters”’s objectives, in particular objective number 3.
The action will be led by Eni in collaboration with Politecnico di Torino and its spin-off company, Wave for Energy.