Optimization Strategies for Enhanced Performance and Economic Viability of Wave Energy Converters
A special issue of Machines (ISSN 2075-1702). This special issue belongs to the section "Electromechanical Energy Conversion Systems".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 26
Special Issue Editors
Interests: MEMS/NEMS; biomedical engineering; finite element analysis; quality control; manufacturing systems resilience; marine renewable energy
Interests: production systems analysis and design; operations management; industrial logistics; risk assessment; systems engineering; offshore power systems; heat exchanger design; energy engineering
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Wave energy represents a vast and largely untapped renewable resource with the potential to significantly contribute to a sustainable energy future. However, the economic viability and widespread deployment of wave energy converters (WECs) are critically dependent not only on maximizing their energy capture efficiency at the device level while minimizing capital and operational expenditures but also on optimizing their integration into larger energy systems and effectively managing the complexities of utility-scale projects under a system perspective. The complex interaction of WECs with the harsh and stochastic marine environment, coupled with the intricate dynamics of their power take-off (PTO) systems and control strategies, makes their optimization a multifaceted and challenging endeavor.
The contributions to this Special Issue are thus envisioned as a collection of recent advancements in design and optimization methodologies and their application to enhance the performance, reduce the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of WECs, and address the broader techno-economic, logistical, and systemic challenges of deploying wave energy farms as viable and sustainable power generation plants.
Research topics of interest may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- WEC design, manufacturing, and testing methodologies and advancements.
- WEC hydrodynamic shape optimization for enhanced energy absorption.
- Advanced WEC control for power maximization and grid services.
- Techno-economic modeling, financial risk, investment analysis, and project management for WECs.
- Multi-objective WEC optimization (yield, loads, survivability, LCOE, project bankability, lifecycle performance).
- Efficient and reliable PTO system design and optimization.
- WEC array and farm design optimization for efficiency, grid compatibility, and reduced environmental impacts.
- Mooring system optimization for cost, survivability, and streamlined O&M/installation.
- Logistical strategy optimization for WEC lifecycle (manufacturing to decommissioning).
- System-level optimization of WEC grid integration (storage, hybrid plants, market strategies).
- Numerical modeling, machine learning, and AI for WEC optimization and lifecycle decision support.
In this Special Issue, both review papers on the current state and future directions of WEC optimization, deployment strategies, and project development, and in-depth research papers presenting novel developments and case studies in this expanded and interdisciplinary field are welcome.
Dr. Gabriele Bocchetta
Prof. Dr. Antonio Casimiro Caputo
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- wave energy converter (WEC)
- marine wave energy
- system optimization
- levelized cost of energy (LCOE)
- WEC design, manufacturing, and testing
- WEC control algorithms
- power take-off (PTO) systems
- techno-economic analysis
- project management
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