Horizon Europe Funds Groundbreaking COIN Project to Boost Wave Energy Innovation
The COIN project (Control-Oriented INnovations for future wave energy farms) will officially launch on November 1st, 2025 with the support of the European Commission under the Horizon Europe Programme. With a total budget of €4 million, COIN brings together nine leading organisations across Europe to deliver cutting-edge control-oriented innovations that promise to improve the reliability, survivability, and sustainability of future wave energy farms.
Coordinated by the Technische Universität Braunschweig (Germany), COIN answers the Horizon Europe call Critical technologies for the future ocean energy farms. The project will run for 48 months, aiming to advance ocean energy technologies to TRL 5 (Technology Readiness Level), bridging the gap between prototypes and commercial viability.
“Wave energy is one of the most promising renewable energy sources, yet it faces major technical and economic hurdles,” said Dr. Christian Windt, project coordinator at TU Braunschweig. “COIN addresses these by introducing novel control solutions—hardware and software—that are essential to building efficient and resilient wave energy farms.”
Key Innovations
COIN will deliver three major innovations:
- A novel connector system (mechanical and electrical) for mooring and subsea infrastructure, designed through a Control Co-Design (CCD) approach to limit peak loads and prevent damage.
- An AI-enhanced real-time wave prediction system, using hybrid wave sensing techniques (radar and buoys), enabling precise second-by-second forecasts.
- A digital-twin-based health monitoring and health-aware control framework, which integrates fault detection, predictive maintenance, and real-time system adaptation to maximise availability and energy yield.
To demonstrate and validate these innovations, COIN will use the CETO wave energy converter, developed by Carnegie Clean Energy, as a reference technology. CETO is a fully submerged point absorber that captures energy from orbital wave motion beneath the sea surface. Its advanced rotary power take-off (PTO) and subsea configuration make it an ideal platform to test the project’s novel technologies in realistic marine conditions.
Project Partners
The COIN consortium brings together expertise from industry and academia: Technische Universität Braunschweig (Coordinator) – Germany, Carnegie Technologies Spain S.L. – Spain (wave energy technology developer), IFP Energies nouvelles – France, Mondragon Goi Eskola Politeknikoa – Spain, WavEC Offshore Renewables – Portugal, Aalborg Universitet – Denmark, Politecnico di Torino – Italy, Quoceant Limited – United Kingdom, Hewlett-Packard Galway Limited – Ireland, an HPE subsidiary.
By combining advanced AI techniques, digital twins, and real-time control, COIN aims to significantly improve reliability, availability, and maintainability of wave energy converters, helping reduce the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) by up to 30% and strengthen Europe’s leadership in the ocean energy sector.
COIN also contributes to the objectives of the Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan and the European Green Deal, supporting a more sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply in the EU.
Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA.