Morocco's Atarec harnesses wave energy potential: Moroccan start-up Advanced Third Age Renewable Energies Company (Atarec) has developed novel wave energy tech that generates electricity from the sea waves at port breakwaters and other maritime infrastructures, according to its website. Atarec deployed a 7 kW advanced demonstrator of its wave energy tech — dubbed Wave Beat — at the Tanger-Med Port, Atarec founders Mohamed Taha El Ouaryachi and Oussama Nour told Offshore Energy in an interview. This followed the successful prototypes deployed in 2020 and 2021 as well.

About the tech: Wavebeat captures the vertical variations in sea level using a freefloatingbuoy, turning the natural motion of water into sustainable and renewable energy, Ouaryachi added in the interview with Offshore Energy. The device is connected to a generator that converts the mechanical energy of the buoy into electrical energy. The device is designed to be cost-competitive and well-suited for port environments given the high wave energy potential is high and easy grid connection. The tech also offsets 1.6k tons of CO2 annually and is 3 times more continuous than solar energy.

Why does it matter? The marine energy sector can cover all of humanity's energy needs of 20k to 90k TWh/year compared to a global electricity consumption of around 16k TWh/year, according to a report (pdf) by the International Energy Agency. Ocean energy could also hold a global market potential of 350 GW by 2050. The tech has proven to be energy efficient in the trials at Tanger Med as it exceeded the offshore wind capacity of 60%, while having one of the most competitive Levelized Cost of Energy amongst globally wave energy providers as a result of its amplification system and the advantages of operating as an onshore tech while being offshore.

The challenges: Funding and the lack of private-public partnerships are the startup’s biggest challenges. Having already raised EUR 900k in equity, grants and non-dilutive money, Atarec is currently “working on many programs in order to get more funding and accelerate the development of WaveBeat as soon as possible, in parallel with the launch of our next fundraising campaign,” added El Ouaryachi. They also aim to form more public-private sector partnerships to address funding issues.

What’s next? Atarec signed agreementsto set up wave energy projects in five countries, including its pilot project in Tanger Med — the first wave exploitation project in Africa — with a total projected power of up to 110 MW, according to their website. The company is also targeting other sections of the market. “We do envision the possibility of developing utility-scale devices for other facilities such as desalination, offshore platforms, artificial Islands, and tourism facilities,” El Ouaryachi said.

The region is already harnessing the ocean’s potential: Oman’s Transport Ministry and a consortium of companies inked an agreement back in March to extend feasibility studies for tidal power at the Masirah sea bridge, with the results expected by the end of the year to guide the investment decision.

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