STOCKHOLM, Sweden — Swedish wave energy company CorPower Ocean has become the first developer in the world to receive a full DNV certification for a wave energy converter, a milestone widely regarded as the offshore energy industry’s gold standard for safety and technical reliability.
The certification marks a significant step toward the commercialization of wave energy, validating a technology that has long struggled to gain investor confidence despite decades of research and development.
A Breakthrough for Wave Energy
CorPower Ocean’s C4 Wave Energy Converter successfully completed DNV’s comprehensive certification process, which evaluated every stage of the system’s lifecycle—from engineering design and manufacturing to structural integrity, fatigue resistance, and performance in real offshore conditions.
The achievement makes the Stockholm-based scaleup the first company to earn a full certification for a wave energy device, potentially opening the door to larger institutional investments in the sector.
According to the company, many infrastructure investors require DNV certification before financing offshore energy projects, making the approval an important commercial milestone as well as a technical one.
Turning Ocean Waves into Electricity
CorPower Ocean develops floating wave energy converters designed to generate renewable electricity from ocean swells.
Its flagship C4 device is a 100-ton, teardrop-shaped buoy measuring approximately 18 meters high and 9 meters wide. Anchored to the seabed, the buoy converts the natural vertical movement of waves into mechanical energy, which is then transformed into electricity and transmitted to shore through subsea cables.
Unlike conventional wave energy systems that primarily absorb wave motion, CorPower’s technology actively amplifies it using its proprietary WaveSpring phase-control system.
Inspired by the mechanics of the human heart, the technology synchronizes the buoy’s movement with incoming waves, significantly increasing energy capture in normal sea conditions while automatically protecting the system during severe storms.
Proven in the Atlantic Ocean
The certified C4 prototype has been operating off the coast of Aguçadoura, Portugal, since 2023.
During testing, the autonomous system successfully supplied electricity to Portugal’s national grid while surviving some of the Atlantic Ocean’s harshest conditions, including Storm Domingos, which generated waves reaching 18.5 meters in height.
The prototype’s ability to withstand these extreme conditions without structural damage played a key role in securing DNV certification.
Building Commercial Wave Farms
Rather than deploying individual devices, CorPower plans to build commercial wave energy farms consisting of multiple interconnected buoys known as CorPacks.
These arrays are designed to generate hundreds of megawatts of renewable electricity, providing enough clean energy to power hundreds of thousands of homes.
Unlike solar and wind energy, ocean waves provide a more stable and predictable source of renewable electricity because wave patterns are generated by weather systems over vast ocean distances. This consistency could help stabilize power grids while reducing dependence on battery storage or backup generation.
Commercial Projects Planned
Following the certification milestone, CorPower Ocean is advancing its first commercial-scale wave energy projects in Portugal and Scotland, with deployments expected between 2027 and 2029.
If successful, the projects could provide one of the first large-scale demonstrations that wave energy can complement wind and solar as a reliable source of renewable electricity.
CEO and co-founder Patrik Möller described the certification as a historic moment not only for CorPower Ocean but for the entire wave energy sector, saying it transforms wave power from a promising concept into a technology that is both technically proven and commercially bankable.
As countries seek to diversify renewable energy sources and strengthen energy security, CorPower Ocean’s achievement represents a major milestone in bringing wave energy closer to mainstream adoption.
