Written By: Faith Jemosop
Eco Wave Power Global AB (Nasdaq: WAVE), a pioneering onshore wave‑energy technology firm, has signed an agreement with Africa Great Future Development Ltd (AGFDL) to carry out a feasibility study for a potential wave energy power station at the Port of Ngqura in South Africa. This represents Eco Wave Power’s first initiative on the African continent and aligns with its strategic push into new markets with high renewable demand and strong coastline resources.
South Africa currently derives over 80% of its electricity from coal, grappling with persistent power shortages and rising environmental concerns. The 2,800 km coastline presents sizable untapped potential for wave energy, providing a promising path to diversify and decarbonize its energy mix.
Port of Ngqura, on the Eastern Cape coast and adjacent to the Coega Special Economic Zone (Southern Africa’s largest SEZ), offers robust breakwater infrastructure and direct ocean exposure, technical prerequisites for wave energy implementation.
Eco Wave Power’s CEO and Founder, Inna Braverman, emphasized that the study represents a meaningful step towards addressing Africa’s energy access and sustainability, aligning with the company’s global mission to commercialize wave energy. AGFDL’s leadership, CEO Wilfred Emmanuel‑Gottlieb and Chairman Alphonsus Ukah, highlighted the potential for long-term impact in delivering reliable, affordable power to underserved communities and industries in Africa.
Strategic and Technical Significance
- Strategic Market Entry: This marks Eco Wave Power’s first African venture, demonstrating its expansion into regions with growing demand for clean energy and strong wave resources.
- Blueprint for Future Projects: It joins a global rollout that includes Israel (existing grid‑connected station in Jaffa Port), an upcoming U.S. project in Los Angeles due September 2025, as well as pipeline projects in Portugal, Taiwan, and India.
- Technical Viability: Ngqura offers the breakwater stability and direct ocean wave access ideal for stable, reliable wave energy generation.
- Energy Context: With grid unreliability and coal dependency plaguing South Africa, wave energy could be a niche but impactful clean energy source, complementing expanding solar deployment across Africa.
Background & Context
Eco Wave Power at a Glance
Founded by Israeli entrepreneur Inna Braverman in 2011, Eco Wave Power converts sea wave motion into electricity using onshore floaters installed along breakwaters. Its first commercial demonstration was the Gibraltar Wave Farm, launched in 2016, and now supplying up to 15% of Gibraltar’s electricity demand via a 100 kW pilot plant under a 25‑year PPA.
In late 2024, it inaugurated its first grid‑connected station in Jaffa Port, Israel, in partnership with EDF Renewables IL, under a government‑recognized “Pioneering Technology” designation.
Recent Q1 2025 results reflect zero system downtime at Jaffa and promising scaling performance: 10 floaters in 1.5–2 m waves generated ~13% of capacity on average, testing scalability towards 20–30 floaters with proportionally higher output.
Eco Wave currently has a growing 404 MW pipeline spanning multiple continents, backed by international partners and funding programs including Horizon 2020 and the EU Regional Development Fund.
South Africa’s Energy Landscape
- Energy crisis: South Africa continues to rely on aging coal‑fired plants, leading to frequent load shedding and grid instability.
- Renewables expansion: Private and industrial solar installations have surged, easing blackout pressure and reshaping energy generation, from ~1 GW in 2022 to over 4.4 GW by mid‑2023.
- Policy & Climate Funding: South Africa is part of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), a multi‑billion‑dollar climate finance mechanism with developed nations, aiming to transition to cleaner energy with grid and transmission upgrades underway.
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Despite delays in rolling out coal closures and large-scale renewables, the momentum toward cleaner alternatives continues to build, with wave energy offering a window into complementary, predictable, and local generation along coastlines.
What Comes Next?
- Feasibility Study Phase
The study with AGFDL will analyse site-specific variables: wave resource modelling, breakwater suitability, grid connectivity, environmental and regulatory feasibility, and financial models. It is a critical first milestone, not a construction or PPA commitment. - Evaluation of Commercial Pathways
If results are favourable, Eco Wave Power may proceed under one of several models: Build‑Own‑Operate (BOO), Build‑Own‑Transfer (BOT), or joint venture/turnkey approaches with local partners, mirroring its past practice in other markets. - Regulatory and Funding Negotiations
Moving the project forward will likely require grid integration agreements, environmental approvals, and funding support. South Africa’s climate financing frameworks (like JETP) may play a useful role, but execution has been uneven so far. - Scaling Potential
While wave energy currently remains a small fraction of total energy generation globally, strategic sites like Ngqura could anchor future investment if pilot successes materialize, particularly as wave energy complements solar and wind with stability and coastal placement benefits.
Broader Implications & Significance
- Geographic Diversification for Eco Wave: Their expanding footprint, from Israel to the U.S., India, Taiwan, Portugal, now South Africa, demonstrates a purposeful route to achieve global validation and scale.
- Wave Energy’s Niche Role: Though less mature than solar or wind, wave energy offers predictable power near coastal population centers, with low-footprint and minimal land use, advantages in densely populated harbors or SEZ areas like Coega.
- Supporting Africa’s Energy Transition: As the continent pushes toward AU renewable targets (e.g. 300 GW by 2030) and expands solar and wind penetration, wave energy adds another dimension, particularly in maritime nations with extensive hard infrastructure.
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Potential Challenges
- Early Project Stage: This is a feasibility agreement only, no funding, installation, or revenue is guaranteed yet. Commercial deployment could still be years away.
- Regulatory and Political Hurdles: South Africa has experienced delays in clean-energy policies and just energy transition implementation, partially due to governance resistance and institutional inertia.
- Technical & Environmental Risks: Coastal sea conditions, marine ecosystems, and breakwater durability under strong wave exposure are variables to be addressed in detailed engineering and environmental studies.
