Since its initial deployment off the coast of Portugal in August 2023, the C4 wave energy device developed by CorPower Ocean survived four extreme storm events and demonstrated the ability to tune and detune according to varying sea states.

The field test confirms not only the survivability of the 19 m-tall C4 system under fluctuating and sometimes severe marine conditions — wave heights of 18. 5 m — but also affirms its capacity to perform as designed. The wave energy converter exported up to 600 kW peak power during this phase, slightly exceeding predictions provided by a digital twin.

Ocean testing confirmed storm survivability and efficient power generation by the C4 wave energy converter. Source: CorPower Ocean

Continuous operation is largely attributed to the use of WaveSpring phase control technology. An internal pneumatic cylinder is pre-tensioned to pull the buoy downward so that in the absence of active control, the device simply remains in "transparent" mode no matter how high or rough the waves become. The control mechanism oscillates in phase with the waves, which has been confirmed to strongly amplify the machinery response to incident waves.

The C4 system has been disconnected and towed back to land for its first planned maintenance cycle. The wave energy converter will then be relaunched at the same offshore site so that the demonstration program can continue.