Design Indaba | 28.05.2026 17:58
Spanish engineering company IDOM is demonstrating how ocean waves could become a viable source of clean electricity through its floating wave energy converter, MARMOK-A-5. Recently redeployed off the coast of Bilbao at the Biscay Marine Energy Platform, the 42-metre steel buoy represents one of the world’s most advanced experiments in wave-powered infrastructure. The system operates using Oscillating Water Column (OWC) technology. As waves move the floating structure, water rises and falls inside a cylindrical chamber, compressing and decompressing air within the buoy. This airflow drives a turbine that converts wave motion into electricity, which is then transmitted ashore through subsea cables. Unlike fossil-fuel infrastructure, MARMOK works with natural ocean rhythms rather than extracting finite resources.
