CorPower Ocean has secured a grant from the EU Innovation Fund to support the development of VianaWave, a pre-commercial 10MW wave energy farm to be deployed off the coast of northern Portugal.
The grant, in the amount of $46.8 million (€40 million), is for the VianaWave project that will feature a CorPack consisting of 30 wave energy converters (WECs), generating approximately 30 GWh of clean, renewable electricity each year - enough to power 7,500 Portuguese homes, while significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The project represents a major step toward achieving Portugal’s National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) goal of 200 MW of installed wave energy capacity by 2030.
Set to start operations in 2028/2029, VianaWave builds on CorPower’s successful HiWave-5 demonstrator program, marking a shift from pilot-scale demonstrations to commercial rollout.
The Innovation Fund grant will not only finance wave farm technology and infrastructure but also support significant investment in onshore facilities.
This includes expansion of electrical infrastructure in Agucadoura and Póvoa de Varzim, and the development of CorPower Ocean’s operational base at the Port of Viana do Castelo.
In total, an estimated 75% of the project’s lifetime value will be spent within Portugal, boosting the local economy and creating high-quality jobs across engineering, construction, and operations.
“This is a pivotal milestone for CorPower Ocean and the wave energy sector as a whole. VianaWave shows that wave energy is ready to scale. With strong support from the Innovation Fund and the Portuguese ecosystem, we are accelerating the transition to a sustainable, resilient energy system while delivering local economic value,” said Kevin Rebenius, CorPower Ocean’s Commercial Director.