Harnessing wave energy through breakwater integration: A review of technologies, deployment strategies and an open-access database

The growing impacts of climate change are driving the development of innovative solutions within the wave energy sector that aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address key challenges, such as sea level rise. This comprehensive review paper evaluates the potential of Wave Energy Converters (WECs) integrated into breakwaters as a promising approach to enhance coastal resilience while generating renewable electricity from waves. Integrating WECs into breakwaters can significantly reduce construction and maintenance costs, improve reliability, and enhance the protection of coastal infrastructure. The Oscillating Water Column and the OverTopping Device are identified as the two most suitable WEC concepts for breakwater integration, and the critical technical, economic, and environmental considerations for successful deployment are discussed. A detailed analysis of prototypes and concepts underpins a freely accessible, web-based open-access database containing essential information such as location, deployment year, and installed power. This database offers a valuable resource for academics and industry stakeholders involved in the development of WECs for breakwater integration, as it condenses the most relevant information from existing research, is freely available, and has the potential for continuous updates as new devices are deployed and added through public contribution, thus supporting ongoing research and innovation in the field. • The most suitable WEC concepts for integration into breakwaters are OWC and OTD. • Integrating WECs into breakwaters reduces construction and maintenance costs and boosts resilience by reducing overtopping. • Critical technical, economic, and environmental issues to assess when integrating a WEC into a breakwater were identified. • Key considerations for successful integration of WECs into breakwaters were recommended and mitigating measures suggested. • An online database of WECs integrated into breakwaters offers a resource to academics and industry to support future R&D.