Image: SurfWEC“There have been four major failures in the industry that really put investors off. The sinking of the Advanced Research Technologies/Wavegen “Osprey” in 1995, the sinking of the Finavera “Aquabuoy” in 2007, the sinking of the Trident “DECM” in 2009, and the recent sinking of the Wello OY “Penguin” in 2019.”Michael Raftery, CTO, SurfWECNew Jersey of? ce, it becomes immediately clear that this sys-tem and its development are a labor of love for the inventor who’s long-term goal is to end human dependence on fossil fuels. The patent was submitted in 2007 and issued in 2012. It is was created while Raftery worked at Stevens Institute of Technology, the renowned engineering school, which paid for and owns the patent rights to the system, while SurfWEC has an exclusive license option agreement in place to use this technology.“I think the biggest perceptions to overcome are the per-ceptions that wave energy conversion is inef? cient, and that WEC units cannot be designed and fabricated with buoyant integrity similar to Boston Whaler boats, these are the design www.marinetechnologynews.comMarine Technology Reporter 41MTR #4 (34-49).indd 41 4/25/2019 12:25:04 PM