Mitsui pushes ahead with wave power technology

Partners with Ocean Power Technologies Inc.

Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Company and OPT, a U.S. developer of wave-energy plants, will work to bring the latter’s PowerBuoy wave power systems to Asian markets. The agreement gives Mitsui the right to sell OPT’s PowerBuoy in Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia.

OPT in 2012 won a contract from Mitsui to tailor its equipment for Japanese waters. While there are no commercial-scale wave projects yet operating in Asia, marine energy is increasingly attracting large industrial companies keen to gain a foothold as producers of the technology.. Alstom SA, Siemens AG (SIE) and ABB Ltd. already have invested in the industry. OPT's PowerBuoy system integrates patented technologies in hydrodynamics, electronics, energy conversion and computer control systems to extract the natural energy in ocean waves. The system turns wave power into reliable, clean and environmentally beneficial electricity.