**Revolutionizing Coastal Energy: The UniWave 200**

Deployed off the coast of King Island in Tasmania, Australia, is an innovative piece of technology that has been designed to harness the power of waves and convert it into electricity. Wave Swell Energy's UniWave 200 is a cutting-edge solution that has been years in the making, and its potential applications are vast. We spoke with Tom Dennis, Co-Founder and Executive Chair of Wave Swell Energy, to learn more about this groundbreaking technology.

**Inspiration from Nature**

The UniWave 200's design is inspired by a natural phenomenon - the blowhole. "We have an artificial version of that," explains Tom Dennis. "It's a sort of neater chamber when the waves enter from the large underwater opening at the front, they cause the water level inside that chamber to rise and we have a small opening that air passes through very quickly." This air flow causes a turbine to spin, generating electricity.

**Oscillating Water Column Technology**

The UniWave 200 is part of an oscillating water column technology, which has been around for decades but never quite reached commercial viability. "Normally, in the past, as the wave rose inside the chamber, it pushed the air one way and as it fell, it sucked it back the other," explains Tom Dennis. "We only have air coming in one direction, and that's shown in tests to produce more power than any previous bi-directional oscillating water column."

**Addressing Three Key Challenges**

One of the major challenges facing wave energy technology has been efficiency - is it producing enough energy to make it worthwhile? The UniWave 200 addresses this challenge by capturing all the energy in the wave, from the surface to the sea bed. This improves conversion efficiency dramatically. Another challenge has been durability - can it withstand the pounding of the ocean?

The UniWave 200's design solves this problem by being closer to shore and using a big chunk of concrete with no moving parts whatsoever in the water. "Survivability is really not an issue because in shallow water, for a start, any big waves will break before they get to the structure," explains Tom Dennis.

**Accessibility and Maintenance**

The UniWave 200's design also addresses accessibility - how easy is it for a crew to fix if something breaks? The technology itself is quite efficient, but being closer to shore makes maintenance work very easy. "All our moving parts are above the water line, so it's very easy for any maintenance or operational work to be done," says Tom Dennis.

**Potential Applications Beyond Energy**

The UniWave 200 could also prove useful in other areas beyond energy production. For example, it could be used as a tool for water desalination and hydrogen production, as it already has the essential components needed for both. However, according to Tom Dennis, what he sees as the greatest immediate potential for this technology comes from its usefulness as a form of coastal protection from erosion.

**The Maldives Example**

The Maldives in the Indian Ocean is an example of where the UniWave 200 could be used to great effect. With sea level rise and more frequent extreme storm events, those islands are in danger of eventually going under. Building a new sea wall or breakwater would be costly, but using the UniWave 200 technology to do the same job would not only protect the coast but also generate green electricity.

**Marine Life Impact**

One final question from our conversation was about how the UniWave 200 affects marine life. Tom Dennis reassures us that there are no moving parts in the water, so there's no harm to marine life. In fact, some marine life view the units as artificial reefs. "We do have to monitor the noise levels at some distance from the unit itself," he admits, but adds that it's a noise coming from above in the atmosphere, not the ocean.

**The Future of Wave Energy**

As we await the UniWave 200's commercial debut, Tom Dennis is optimistic about its potential. "Where we're starting at the cost of our energy as we enter the commercial phase with this technology, that starting cost is well below the corresponding starting cost of other technologies including wind and solar," he explains.

In conclusion, the UniWave 200 represents a major breakthrough in wave energy technology. With its efficiency, durability, accessibility, and potential applications beyond energy production, it has the potential to revolutionize coastal energy and beyond.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthis artificial blowhole could finally make wave energy mainstream you're looking at the uniwave 200 which was recently deployed off the coast of king island in tasmania australia to learn more about this deceptively simple piece of technology and its potentially wide range of applications i spoke with wave swell energy's co-founder and executive chair dr tom dennis we think that this will be the first technology to make wave energy commercially viable that's our lane the uniwave 200's design is inspired by a natural phenomenon the blowhole what it is is a cave in the rock face and as the waves come in they cause the water level inside that cave to rise and compress or squash or squeeze that air we have an artificial version of that it's a sort of a neater chamber when the waves enter from the large underwater opening at the front they cause the water level inside that chamber to rise and we have a small opening that air passes through very quickly and that spins a turbine which generates electricity this type of wave energy technology is known as an oscillating water column they've been around for decades but nothing quite like the uni wave 200. normally in the past as the wave rose inside the chamber it pushed the air one way and as it fell it sucked it back the other we only have air coming by in one direction and that has shown in tests model scale tests that it actually produces more power than than any previous bi-directional oscillating water column there's three big challenges that have so far kept wave energy from becoming a mainstream renewable like wind and solar the first is efficiency is it producing enough energy to make it worthwhile second is durability can it withstand the pounding of the ocean and third is accessibility when something breaks how easy is it for a crew to get out there and fix it here's how the uniwave 200 addresses all three the waves that are approaching it have nowhere to go i mean yes around it to the side but they can't go underneath or over the top like many other technologies so that means that we're capturing all the energy in that wave all the way through the what's called the water column from the surface to the sea bed and that improves the conversion efficiency dramatically in itself but of course the the technology itself is quite efficient the second thing is there for being closer to shore and a big chunk of concrete with i might add and this is very important no moving parts whatsoever in the water survivability is is really not an issue because in shallow water for a start any big waves will break before they get to the structure and the third one is the accessibility being close to shore and with all our moving parts above the water line it's very easy for any maintenance or operational work to be done the uniwave 200 could also prove to be a useful tool for water desalination and hydrogen production since it's already got the essential components needed for both water and electricity but tom tells me what he sees as the greatest immediate potential for this technology comes from its usefulness as a form of coastal protection from erosion i'll give you an example the maldives in the indian ocean the lowest lying nation on earth with sea level rise and more frequent extreme storm events those islands are in a danger of eventually going under if a new sea wall or breakwater needs to be constructed normally that would just be a sunk cost it would return nothing and it would have some ongoing maintenance costs as well by using this um technology to do that same job but at the same time produce green electricity you actually more than pay for the structure itself and and get a return from it so it's a revenue generating sea wall or breakwater and if you're wondering how the uni wave 200 affects the marine life it shares space with here's what tom had to say about that there are no moving parts in the water so there's no harm to marine life and in fact um marine life view them as artificial reefs at king island we do have to monitor the the um noise levels uh at some distance from the from the unit itself but as i say that it's a noise it's coming from up above in the atmosphere not the ocean the uniwave 200 at king island is the first of its kind anywhere in the world it's expected to be hooked up to the grid in late february and expected to be generating electricity by the end of march and much like wind and solar as this technology scales up tom says it will become more and more affordable where we're starting at the cost of our energy as we enter the commercial phase with this technology that starting cost is well below the corresponding starting cost of other technologies including wind and solar when they were at the same stage what do you think about wave energy do you think it'll prove to be an important renewable in the future are there other technologies that you think are promising that you'd like to see us cover let us know down in the comments as always thanks so much for watching i'm your host jesse oral stay safe out there everybodythis artificial blowhole could finally make wave energy mainstream you're looking at the uniwave 200 which was recently deployed off the coast of king island in tasmania australia to learn more about this deceptively simple piece of technology and its potentially wide range of applications i spoke with wave swell energy's co-founder and executive chair dr tom dennis we think that this will be the first technology to make wave energy commercially viable that's our lane the uniwave 200's design is inspired by a natural phenomenon the blowhole what it is is a cave in the rock face and as the waves come in they cause the water level inside that cave to rise and compress or squash or squeeze that air we have an artificial version of that it's a sort of a neater chamber when the waves enter from the large underwater opening at the front they cause the water level inside that chamber to rise and we have a small opening that air passes through very quickly and that spins a turbine which generates electricity this type of wave energy technology is known as an oscillating water column they've been around for decades but nothing quite like the uni wave 200. normally in the past as the wave rose inside the chamber it pushed the air one way and as it fell it sucked it back the other we only have air coming by in one direction and that has shown in tests model scale tests that it actually produces more power than than any previous bi-directional oscillating water column there's three big challenges that have so far kept wave energy from becoming a mainstream renewable like wind and solar the first is efficiency is it producing enough energy to make it worthwhile second is durability can it withstand the pounding of the ocean and third is accessibility when something breaks how easy is it for a crew to get out there and fix it here's how the uniwave 200 addresses all three the waves that are approaching it have nowhere to go i mean yes around it to the side but they can't go underneath or over the top like many other technologies so that means that we're capturing all the energy in that wave all the way through the what's called the water column from the surface to the sea bed and that improves the conversion efficiency dramatically in itself but of course the the technology itself is quite efficient the second thing is there for being closer to shore and a big chunk of concrete with i might add and this is very important no moving parts whatsoever in the water survivability is is really not an issue because in shallow water for a start any big waves will break before they get to the structure and the third one is the accessibility being close to shore and with all our moving parts above the water line it's very easy for any maintenance or operational work to be done the uniwave 200 could also prove to be a useful tool for water desalination and hydrogen production since it's already got the essential components needed for both water and electricity but tom tells me what he sees as the greatest immediate potential for this technology comes from its usefulness as a form of coastal protection from erosion i'll give you an example the maldives in the indian ocean the lowest lying nation on earth with sea level rise and more frequent extreme storm events those islands are in a danger of eventually going under if a new sea wall or breakwater needs to be constructed normally that would just be a sunk cost it would return nothing and it would have some ongoing maintenance costs as well by using this um technology to do that same job but at the same time produce green electricity you actually more than pay for the structure itself and and get a return from it so it's a revenue generating sea wall or breakwater and if you're wondering how the uni wave 200 affects the marine life it shares space with here's what tom had to say about that there are no moving parts in the water so there's no harm to marine life and in fact um marine life view them as artificial reefs at king island we do have to monitor the the um noise levels uh at some distance from the from the unit itself but as i say that it's a noise it's coming from up above in the atmosphere not the ocean the uniwave 200 at king island is the first of its kind anywhere in the world it's expected to be hooked up to the grid in late february and expected to be generating electricity by the end of march and much like wind and solar as this technology scales up tom says it will become more and more affordable where we're starting at the cost of our energy as we enter the commercial phase with this technology that starting cost is well below the corresponding starting cost of other technologies including wind and solar when they were at the same stage what do you think about wave energy do you think it'll prove to be an important renewable in the future are there other technologies that you think are promising that you'd like to see us cover let us know down in the comments as always thanks so much for watching i'm your host jesse oral stay safe out there everybodythis artificial blowhole could finally make wave energy mainstream you're looking at the uniwave 200 which was recently deployed off the coast of king island in tasmania australia to learn more about this deceptively simple piece of technology and its potentially wide range of applications i spoke with wave swell energy's co-founder and executive chair dr tom dennis we think that this will be the first technology to make wave energy commercially viable that's our lane the uniwave 200's design is inspired by a natural phenomenon the blowhole what it is is a cave in the rock face and as the waves come in they cause the water level inside that cave to rise and compress or squash or squeeze that air we have an artificial version of that it's a sort of a neater chamber when the waves enter from the large underwater opening at the front they cause the water level inside that chamber to rise and we have a small opening that air passes through very quickly and that spins a turbine which generates electricity this type of wave energy technology is known as an oscillating water column they've been around for decades but nothing quite like the uni wave 200. normally in the past as the wave rose inside the chamber it pushed the air one way and as it fell it sucked it back the other we only have air coming by in one direction and that has shown in tests model scale tests that it actually produces more power than than any previous bi-directional oscillating water column there's three big challenges that have so far kept wave energy from becoming a mainstream renewable like wind and solar the first is efficiency is it producing enough energy to make it worthwhile second is durability can it withstand the pounding of the ocean and third is accessibility when something breaks how easy is it for a crew to get out there and fix it here's how the uniwave 200 addresses all three the waves that are approaching it have nowhere to go i mean yes around it to the side but they can't go underneath or over the top like many other technologies so that means that we're capturing all the energy in that wave all the way through the what's called the water column from the surface to the sea bed and that improves the conversion efficiency dramatically in itself but of course the the technology itself is quite efficient the second thing is there for being closer to shore and a big chunk of concrete with i might add and this is very important no moving parts whatsoever in the water survivability is is really not an issue because in shallow water for a start any big waves will break before they get to the structure and the third one is the accessibility being close to shore and with all our moving parts above the water line it's very easy for any maintenance or operational work to be done the uniwave 200 could also prove to be a useful tool for water desalination and hydrogen production since it's already got the essential components needed for both water and electricity but tom tells me what he sees as the greatest immediate potential for this technology comes from its usefulness as a form of coastal protection from erosion i'll give you an example the maldives in the indian ocean the lowest lying nation on earth with sea level rise and more frequent extreme storm events those islands are in a danger of eventually going under if a new sea wall or breakwater needs to be constructed normally that would just be a sunk cost it would return nothing and it would have some ongoing maintenance costs as well by using this um technology to do that same job but at the same time produce green electricity you actually more than pay for the structure itself and and get a return from it so it's a revenue generating sea wall or breakwater and if you're wondering how the uni wave 200 affects the marine life it shares space with here's what tom had to say about that there are no moving parts in the water so there's no harm to marine life and in fact um marine life view them as artificial reefs at king island we do have to monitor the the um noise levels uh at some distance from the from the unit itself but as i say that it's a noise it's coming from up above in the atmosphere not the ocean the uniwave 200 at king island is the first of its kind anywhere in the world it's expected to be hooked up to the grid in late february and expected to be generating electricity by the end of march and much like wind and solar as this technology scales up tom says it will become more and more affordable where we're starting at the cost of our energy as we enter the commercial phase with this technology that starting cost is well below the corresponding starting cost of other technologies including wind and solar when they were at the same stage what do you think about wave energy do you think it'll prove to be an important renewable in the future are there other technologies that you think are promising that you'd like to see us cover let us know down in the comments as always thanks so much for watching i'm your host jesse oral stay safe out there everybody\n"