Published November 2nd, 2009 by admin
Rising Tides: Wavebob CEO, Andrew Parish, discusses Ireland’s buoyant ocean energy industry and his company’s plans to capture a share of the emerging global market.
It’s a good time to be an innovator of wave energy technology in Ireland. Just last month, Sustainable Energy Ireland pledged €4.3M to boost the development efforts of 10 companies and bring the country closer to its goal of connecting 500MW of ocean energy to the national grid by 2020. Around the same time, one of Europe’s largest electrical utilities, Vattenfall joined forces with wave energy technology pioneer, Wavebob, to create Tonn Energy, an Irish wave farm development firm. The JV was supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.
Enterprise Ireland (EI) Americas staff caught up with Wavebob CEO, Andrew Parish. Parish was one of a dozen Irish clean-tech CEOs participating in a recent EI-supported visit to San Francisco to meet with customers, partners and other influencers.
The following is a summary of the discussion.
EI: Generating power from the ocean is virgin territory in the world of renewable energy. Tell us about Wavebob.
AP: Wavebob is a technology company. We were founded 10 years ago to develop a reliable, efficient and cost-effective means of producing useful power from ocean waves. Our wave energy converters harness the power of the ocean to produce clean, renewable energy. They’re robust floating buoy devices deployed in large arrays and built for deep-water deployment where energy resources are substantial.
In the renewables space it’s an emerging area with no technology precedents or roadmap. This means we’re operating on an exciting frontier with opportunities and challenges that aren’t found in other industries.
EI: In this “frontier” space, how close is your technology to commercialization?
AP: In general, wave technology is about 2-3 years from commercial deployment so our work to date has focused on R&D. For the past 3 years, we have been testing 30 kW devices in Galway Bay. More recently, we’ve been working with Vattenfall to develop a 250MW demonstration project—also off the west coast of Ireland. A further project is planned for deployment in Portugal toward the end of 2011.
We’re already generating early revenue from our demo activities. Our first commercial devices are slated for deployment in multiple regions worldwide as soon as 2012.
EI: What markets are you targeting and what’s the profile of a typical customer?
AP: We’re targeting three strategic markets. The first is the electrical utility market. This involves large-scale projects to convert energy from deep ocean swells into electricity for the on-shore grid. This is where our buoys shine. They’re built to manage the challenges associated with deep-water installations. As mentioned earlier, we recently joined forces with Vattenfall to further develop our technology for this market.
Our second target market is off-shore oil and gas platforms where oil giants can exploit ocean energy to offset expensive electricity costs. Here, we’re doing some interesting work with Chevron on the California coast. This application is a natural fit for our technology. There are approximately 7000 platforms across the globe. Each consumes an average of 5-10MW of electricty. With our device, we believe that we can reduce their energy costs by 25-50%.
Also on our roadmap is the meteorological/navy niche and we’re pleased to be making progress there too.
EI: What does it take to build an ocean energy company?
AP: Time, patience, a considerable amount of capital and lots of brain power. We operate in the realm of extreme engineering so our success depends on exceptional mechanical, structural and hydraulic engineers, as well as hydrodynamics and numerical simulation experts. Beyond technical excellence, we also look for individuals with passion, entrepreneurial flair, affinity with the ocean and those who understand the link between our research efforts and commercializing our technology. We’ve grown quickly—from 4 to 20 employees in the last 18 months. Our newest hires come from Ireland’s Maynooth College which is incubating terrific engineering talent.
Building a global wave energy company also requires considerable capital. We closed an interim funding round last month with investments from Enterprise Ireland, Sustainable Energy Ireland and others. We anticipate seeking further financing in 2010 which we believe will take us through our final development phase and into commercialization.
EI: You’ve established partnerships with interesting companies. Can you discuss Wavebob’s relationship with these players?
AP: Our partners are absolutely imperative to our success. We’re very fortunate to enjoy close relationships with industry leaders and we get exceptional support from the Irish Government.
When you’re pioneering unprecedented technology for a new market, teaming closely with the end user is fundamental to developing a superior product that conforms to their expectations. Nobody has done this before so there is no roadmap. Plus, our technology development timelines are significantly longer than most industries. But since our partners are pioneers and entrepreneurs in their own right, they understand that this kind of innovation requires a long-term commitment.
With strong partners, we can expand our team, broaden our expertise and access elements of the value chain that might otherwise be out of reach. Most importantly, our partners provide vital technical resources. Some even deliver financial support. We benefit from their decades of experience and, in many cases, avoid some of the pitfalls that can hinder progress. This allows us to innovate with speed and confidence.
EI: You recently visited California on an EI-supported market study visit. How important is the West Coast to Wavebob?
AP: The US West Coast is very important to Wavebob. And the timing of our visit to California was impeccable. The State’s largest utility company, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) and the City of San Francisco have ocean energy projects well underway and we were fortunate to have good meetings with both during our trip. While we’ve been talking to PG&E for some time, it’s important for us to engage in person as often as possible and retain positive mindshare, especially as they move closer to executing on their ambitious ocean energy initiatives.
Our visit also coincided with the Renewable Energy Finance Forum which provided an additional bonus. The event gathered executives, VCs, entrepreneurs and others to hear experts address issues of importance to leaders of international clean-tech companies. One of the hottest topics was learning how to access the stimulus funds currently available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. For me, it was also gratifying to hear Mayor Gavin Newsom speak passionately of San Francisco’s intention to harness energy from the Pacific Ocean to boost the City’s existing electricity sources.
Beyond commercial opportunities, Silicon Valley is the epicenter of global venture capital activity. So a stop in this location is a must for any company with substantial capital requirements. We had positive meetings with several VCs which we’ll build on in the coming months.
EI: Who are your US competitors?
AP: There are a few companies in the US that we keep a keen eye on. But in reality, the most extensive R&D effort in the marine energy space has taken place in Europe, with the UK and Ireland dominating. Ireland asserts an edge largely because we’re an Island nation with a west coast challenged by the rigors of the North Atlantic Ocean. But it’s more than that. The sea is in our blood. Our centuries-old fishing industry has given us a unique understanding of working in an ocean environment. The combination of our heritage, our rich natural resources and our marine engineering talent will continue to set Ireland apart when it comes to ocean energy technology innovation.
For more information on Wavebob, please visit the company at www.wavebob.com.
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