Point Absorber Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Application, Regional Outlook, Competitive Strategies, And Segment Forecasts, 2019 To 2025

The global point absorber market is likely to observe growth on account of growing global renewable energy demand over the next coming years. Increasing sustainable energy requirements at commercial scale are expected to further drive the global point absorber market over the forecast period. Stringent regulations regarding conventional energy generation methods are also projected to have a positive impact on market growth. Point absorber is a type of wave energy converter (WEC) used to capture and convert wave energy into electrical energy. Point absorbers are comparatively smaller than wave’s length and may be floating structures or bottom mounted. The product continuously generates energy irrespective of wave directions which is an advantage over other wave energy generating technologies and is expected to drive the market growth over the foreseeable future. Major market participants are engaging in R&D to develop innovative technologies. Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) has developed a point absorber PB150 Power Buoy. It is a surface floating device that has the capability to generate 150KW power. The company is currently involved in developing PB500 Power Tower, which has a capacity of 500 KW and when completed is anticipated to facilitate higher scale commercial and utility sectors. UK government along with the U.S. Department of Energy-funded in various stages of developing PB500 which is expected to bolster the market growth over the next seven years. In Coos Bay, OPT planned a project to install a wave farm using PB500 which is expected to supply 275,000 MW annually. The product is required to be installed at a minimum depth of 40 m which is far enough from the shore owing to environmental impact in sensitive areas. According to researchers, point absorber deployment in sensitive areas near the shore and aquatic life zone has a negative impact on aquatic species. The presence of such devices is expected to alter water movement and turbulence which may result in inhabitant changes. This is expected to hinder the point absorber market over the forecast period. Other factors that are anticipated to hamper the market are high installation cost and large size of equipment. Major end-use industries include commercial, industrial and residential purposes.

North America is expected to be the dominant regional point absorber market over the next seven years on account of huge investment in developing commercial-scale energy generation device farm. Department of Navy Energy Program under EPA imposed strict regulations on power generation devices impacting aquatic life and water pollution. Point absorber has less impact on the environment compared to other wave energy devices such as ocean thermal energy conversion, tidal generation, ocean current, and saltwater air conditioning which is anticipated to bolster the market growth over the foreseeable future in the region. Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing regional market owing to surge in renewable energy demand and large coastal area availability. OPT has installed wave energy device farms in Australia which is anticipated to reduce greenhouse gas emission by approximately 50% being produced by conventional methods. This is expected to have a positive impact on various regional markets. The point absorber market is in nascent stages and major players involved in developing and commercial site installation include Ocean Power Technologies, AWS Ocean Energy, The European Energy Centre Ltd., and Wavestar.