M4 Wave Energy Demonstration Project

A 1/4 scale M4 Moored MultiMode Multibody Wave Energy Converter was deployed off the south coast of Australia. The M4 project leveraged the local Australian supply chain and engaged six local contractors in building, assembling, deploying, and decommissioning the device. Electricity from wave action was supplemented by two small wind turbines and a solar array to power data collection and transmission. The demonstration model was scaled to 24 m length and and designed to absorb 1-10kW in the target sea-states of King George Sound. The deployment was part of the M4 Wave Energy Demonstration Project led by The University of Western Australia’s Marine Energy Research Australia (MERA). Watch a video of the M4 WEC being towed to sea here.

marineenergyresearch.com.au

Project Manager

University of Western Australia’s Marine Energy Research Australia

Additional Information

Project Website

Project Status Is the project actively being planned or is deployed in the water (active)? Or was the project canceled or completed (inactive)?

Inactive

Project Life Cycle Project Progress through life cycle:<ul> <li>Planned: Project has identified a deployment location and is preparing for deployment</li> <li>Operational: Project is deployed in the water and is active</li> <li>Completed: Project was previously deployed in the water</li> <li>Decommissioned: Installation has been fully removed in accordance with regulations</li> <li>Canceled: Project was canceled before being deployed in the water</li></ul>

Decommissioned

Max Rated Power Capacity The maximum amount of electricity that can be produced by project, based on available resources and device nameplate capacity.

0.01 MW

Operational Duration

November 2024 - April 2025

Project Duration

2021 - 2025

Energy Resource

Wave

Project Scale

Sub-scale

Number of Devices

1

Grid Connectivity

Not Grid Connected

Waterbody

King George Sound

Site Characteristics Geographic characterization for the project location:<ul> <li>Open Ocean: Main body of ocean, not enclosed or partially enclosed by land</li> <li>Coastal: Open water near the coast, spanning between land and shelf boundary</li> <li>Enclosed Bay: water that is partially surrounded by land, with a mouth open to larger water</li> <li>Constricted Channel: A channel where water flows quickly due to narrowing by the land</li> <li>River: Water flowing from land towards a larger body of water</li></ul>

Enclosed Bay

Country

Australia

Last Modified

19 September 2025

This Project has the following MRE Devices

Citation Formats

“M4 Wave Energy Demonstration Project.” Marine Energy Projects Database: Projects, PRIMRE, United States Department of Energy, https:https://openei.org/wiki/PRIMRE/Databases/Projects_Database/Projects/M4_Wave_Energy_Demonstration_Project. Accessed <day> <monthRoman> <year>.

Marine Energy Projects Database: Projects. <year>. "M4 Wave Energy Demonstration Project." Accessed <monthRoman> <day>, <year>. https:https://openei.org/wiki/PRIMRE/Databases/Projects_Database/Projects/M4_Wave_Energy_Demonstration_Project.

PRIMRE/Databases/Projects Database/Projects/M4 Wave Energy Demonstration Project

M4 Wave Energy Demonstration Project

This Project has the following MRE Devices

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