EU Awards €40M to CorPower Ocean for World-First 10MW Wave Farm in Portugal
Photo Credit: CorPower Ocean
Viana Do Castelo | 28 July 2025- Europe’s pursuit of net-zero has taken a significant leap with the European Commission’s €40 million grant to CorPower Ocean for the VianaWave project a groundbreaking 10MW wave energy array to be built off the Portuguese coast. Slated for commissioning by 2029, the installation is set to power 7,500 homes and stands as the most advanced commercial wave energy venture ever initiated on the continent.
The project places Portugal in a significant position with respect to the global wave energy transition, leveraging its Atlantic seaboard and strong maritime infrastructure. As a flagship under Horizon Europe, VianaWave reflects the EU’s accelerating shift toward diversified renewables, particularly ocean energy, as it works to meet its 2030 and 2050 climate goals. According to the European Commission, wave and tidal power are now formally recognised as “key enabling technologies” in decarbonising Europe’s energy mix.
CorPower Ocean’s technology, which mimics the pumping principles of the human heart to harvest wave motion, is widely seen as a turning point in the long-awaited commercialisation of wave energy. The VianaWave farm will deploy the company’s C4 systems at scale for the first time, following successful prototypes tested in Sweden, Scotland, and the Azores. The funding will also support grid integration infrastructure and robust environmental monitoring, vital for long-term viability.
The case for ocean energy is strengthening rapidly. A recent pan-European study under the EVOLVE Project found over 70GW of viable wave energy potential across Great Britain, Ireland, and Portugal, suggesting wave farms could eventually rival offshore wind in contributing to energy security and carbon neutrality. Such developments also create pathways for coastal economies to emerge as blue energy hubs, unlocking jobs and industrial value chains in marine engineering, digital monitoring, and resilient grid design.
Beyond Portugal, CorPower Ocean is extending its footprint to the UK, where it plans to build the country’s largest wave energy array at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney. That parallel deployment cements the company’s role as a first-mover in establishing a transatlantic wave energy corridor, further aligning with Europe’s wider ocean energy agenda.
With the VianaWave farm now in advanced development, and institutional backing from both EU and national agencies, wave power is no longer a fringe experiment, it is a frontier asset class. As the technology matures and costs fall, Africa’s Atlantic-facing economies, including Ghana, Morocco, and South Africa, could become next-generation deployment zones, particularly as demand for modular, climate-resilient power systems grows.
CorPower’s milestone signals that wave energy has crossed from laboratory ambition into real-world implementation, with Europe charting the course, and the rest of the world poised to follow.
