The Swedish company CorPower Ocean received the first DNV Prototype certificate for a wave energy converter in July 2026, validating its resilience to waves of up to 18.5 metres. This milestone paves the way for funding and commercial deployment in Portugal and Scotland.
Wave energy has overcome a key hurdle. The Swedish company CorPower Ocean has obtained the first DNV Prototype Certificate for a wave energy converter, a seal that validates the safety, reliability, and structural resilience of its C4 technology against waves of up to 18.5 metres. The announcement, made in July 2026, marks a turning point for a sector that has been trapped for decades between promising prototypes and the lack of a standard that would unlock funding.
Behind this milestone is a cumulative investment of 120 million euros. CorPower Ocean has raised capital from funds such as NordicNinja VC, Santander, SEB Greentech VC, Cisco Investments, and the European Innovation Council, as well as from Swedish and Portuguese public agencies. The certification, under the DNV-SE-0120 standard, is not a mere formality: it is the same one used by oil platforms and offshore wind farms, and it reduces the technological risk perceived by investors and insurers.
The path to this milestone has not been easy. For decades, wave energy has faced four main barriers: high technological risk, lack of certification and bankability, cost and engineering complexity, and insufficient market scale. Marine devices must withstand severe loads, corrosion, and structural fatigue, in addition to requiring costly maintenance. Without independent validation, banks do not lend to uncertified technology.
CorPower Ocean's C4 converter, an 18-metre tall and 100-tonne buoy, has already demonstrated its resilience in real conditions. The prototype installed in Aguçadoura, in northern Portugal, has been operating since 2023 and exports electricity to the Portuguese grid, withstanding storms with waves of up to 18.5 metres. This real-sea experience has been key to obtaining certification.
With this seal, CorPower Ocean can advance its first two industrial parks, located in Portugal and Scotland. The Ocean Energy Europe association has highlighted that the certification "elevates the maturity" of wave energy and brings it closer to commercial reality. Other players in the sector, such as Wave Swell Energy, Oscilla Power, Eco Wave Power, AWS Ocean Energy, and Carnegie Clean Energy, now have a clear benchmark for what it means to achieve bankability.
For cleantech and deep tech startups, CorPower Ocean's case offers practical lessons. Certification should not be treated as a final formality, but as a de-risking tool for investors. The 120 million euros raised by the company came alongside the certification process, not afterwards. A letter of intent or an early certification plan can be more convincing than a lab prototype.
Moreover, demonstrating in real conditions is crucial. Operating data from Aguçadoura, with extreme waves, is difficult to replicate in a laboratory. For deep tech investors, field evidence weighs more than any projection.
The next step for CorPower Ocean is to scale the technology and build commercial parks. The DNV certification opens the door to project finance and insurance, two elements that have so far hindered the sector's expansion. If the company manages to industrialise its device, wave energy could cease to be a promise and become a real source within the renewable mix.
For now, the focus is on Portugal and Scotland, where sea conditions are favourable. The parks are expected to begin operating in the coming years, although no specific dates have been revealed. What is clear is that the certification has changed the game for wave energy.
You may also like
