Although oceans take up well over three quarters of the surface of the earth, they are still underestimated as a source of renewable energy. Thanks to the impressive advance of the offshore wind energy, people are becoming more and more aware of the fact that the ocean can also offer a sea of energy.

Two potential sources of offshore energy, wave power and tidal energy, have so far been left unused. However, these energy sources offer multiple advantages compared to the conventional energy sources. The market of these marine energy technologies is still in full development: most of them are still in the conceptual phase, but some of them are already ready to be launched on a large scale.

Nevertheless we find ourselves in unknown territory and many aspects still need further investigation, such as a profound understanding of these recoverable resources, the power of take-off systems, the chances of survival in extreme circumstances, the costs of the produced electricity, etc.

The objectives of this project are:

• quantifying the source of both wave power and tidal energy on the Belgian part of the North Sea (BPNS).
• creating an overview of the status of the energy-converter, which has to be suitable for the limitations on the BPNS (relatively shallow, relatively small waves and relatively low rate of flow). As the market is still in full development, we will also make a forecast of the suspected development in the next ten years.
• quantifying these recoverable resources and selecting the most optimal locations.
• writing out guidelines for an optimal sustainable management of the further development of marine energy technologies on the BPNS.