SWAN–WEC: Introducing an Innovative Design for a Deep Water Point Absorber Wave Energy Converter

Meeting the growing demand for renewable energy production requires tapping into a variety of natural resources. Wave energy, while abundant, remains a challenging and often non-economic field. To address this, the present paper proposes and examines an innovative concept for a wave energy converter (WEC). Alongside survivability capabilities, the novel device enables simultaneous extraction of wave energy in two degrees of freedom and, with additional tuning for a range of sea states, achieves higher efficiency compared to existing technologies. As it does not require a link to the seabed or a wharf for production, the concept is suitable for deep water, hence offering higher potential relative to nearshore WECs. In this study, we present the proposed concept and its engineering simplicity, together with mathematical analysis and preliminary results that evaluate the device’s performance under regular and irregular sea conditions.