'Progress has been rapid in scientific terms' 

WHAT makes Maynooth-based Wavebob a "smart economy" business to watch? The fact that it's one of only a handful of companies worldwide which have successfully generated electricity from ocean waves.

Its wave energy converter - which can be deployed singly or in arrays - is a floating buoy-like device that sits on top of the water, adjusting automatically to the waves so that it maximises the amount of power delivered to the electricity grid on shore.

The company has invested heavily in R&D since it was founded in 1999, and as a result progress has been rapid in scientific terms winning it the title of Green Innovation Company of the Year in 2008.

Wavebob has been conducting sea trials since 2006, It first produced electricity from the sea off the west coast of Ireland in 2007. And testing of the pre-commercial, grid-connected wave energy converter is due to begin off the coast of Portugal at the end of 2011.

Those tests - which have received EUR5.1 million in EU grant aid, as well as a further EUR3.4 million investment from a six-company consortium led by Wavebob are going to be be crucial to the future of the company

They aim is to demonstrate that Wavebob's technology is the most suitable for adoption as the international standard for harvesting energy from the ocean - and could bring large-scale commercial wave farms a significant step closer.

"This is a hugely exciting step," says Wavebob's chief executive, Andrew Parish. "It's a validation of our technology and of our approach of working with world-class partners over the years - and, of course, developing viable wave farms will have a major impact on reducing carbon emissions worldwide."