Floating solar and wave energy projects grab a slice of $88M Energy Catalyst funding

Home Marine Energy Floating solar and wave energy projects grab a slice of $88M Energy Catalyst funding

December 26, 2023,
by

Ajsa Habibic

Innovate UK’s Energy Catalyst program has awarded over £40 million (around $88 million) in grant funding to a range of projects that aim to harness clean energy, including floating solar and wave energy projects.

For illustrative purposes only. (Courtesy of DNV)

The grants awarded in Round 10 of Energy Catalyst are part of the Ayrton Fund for clean energy innovation, with this funding provided by the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) through the Transforming Energy Access (TEA) platform, and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

A total of 64 projects were selected with activities spanning 24 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Indo-Pacific region. The projects vowed to advance innovation in areas including next-generation solar, smart green grids, hydrogen, clean cooling, and renewable-based alternatives to fossil fuel generators.

Projects to receive grant funding and business support include the Solar2Wave project proposed by HelioRec, Cranfield University, Achelous Energy, and local Indonesian partners.

The goal of Solar2Wave is to build Indonesia’s first floating solar power plant on the ocean and to provide affordable and clean energy to replace diesel generators being used on Indonesian islands that are too distant to access their national grid.

Among the winners of Energy Catalyst Round 10 are also several wave energy projects: Islanded Wave Powered Microgrid Pilot for Remote Islands in Thailand proposed by Aquatera Limited, Open-Water Demonstration of INWave Wave Energy Converter Power Plant in Vietnam by Ingine Wave Energy Systems, and Fiji WAVEFLOW by Aeon Energy.