Imagine a giant beach ball, but anchored in the open sea: Ocean-2 tilts, the water rises inside it, the turbines turn. panthalassa He tested it off the coast of Washington, where the waves are furious. And the modular and flexible "beach ball" has proven it can compete with solar and wind power. Maybe. Or maybe not. Too brief an introduction? No problem, you have the rest of the article to get a better idea.
A sphere against the sea
A spherical object, about ten meters wide, floats up and down in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It is not a wreck or a UFO, but Ocean-2, the prototype from Panthalassa, a Portland startup backed by former Bridgewater employees. It works like this: waves lift the sphere, water enters, flows through internal tubes, and activates turbines that generate electricity. It's a bit like a windmill, but without blades and with the unruly nature of the sea. The design is modular, flexible, designed to withstand storms and the algae and molluscs that attack anything that floats for too long. The goal? Low-cost energy, he continues, without disturbing the fish.
But then the sea rebels
But then, it happens. The ocean is no playground. The waves, constant and brutal, hit like a boxer who never tires. Salt corrosion eats away at the materials, that previous “patina” transforms the sphere into a condominium for molluscs. Panthalassa's tests, which began in 2025 off Puget Sound, have shown promising efficiency, but also limitations: offshore maintenance, soaring costs, and marine life that must remain intact. 2022 study It highlights how wave energy converters, while advanced, struggle with durability and cost-effectiveness compared to solar and wind. Ocean-2, with its design that keeps it largely above water, attempts to circumvent this problem, but the sea laughs at human ambitions.
A curious fact? A single Ocean-2 module can generate up to 500 kW under optimal conditions, enough to power 50 homes. But a terawatt grid requires thousands of spheres, with maintenance costs that raise eyebrows even for optimists.
Ocean-2: Who's working on it and how?
Panthalassa, founded by a team with more financial than engineering experience, has focused on a practical approach: no rigid structures like the old converters, but a sphere that adapts to the motion of the waves. As I was saying last yearWave energy has been a puzzle for decades: the United Kingdom, a global leader, produces only 10 MW from waves and tides. Panthalassa uses an "overtopping" system: water rises, pushed by the wave, and flows down, driving turbines. Simple in theory, a logistical nightmare in practice. The 2025 tests, conducted in collaboration with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, aim to optimize materials and reduce the impact on marine ecosystems. But the real test is affordability: can Ocean-2 compete with solar, which now costs less than a pizza (that's an allegory)?
Marine paradox
And here we stumble, like a tourist on a wet pier. Ocean-2 is eco-friendly, it doesn't pollute, it doesn't trap wildlife. But installing thousands of spheres requires stable seabeds, underwater cables, and constant maintenance. A bit like trying to build a highway in the middle of a hurricane. And then there's the human paradox: we want clean energy, but the sea, with its age-old indifference, isn't easily tamed. Local fishermen, for example, fear that fleets of converters could alter currents or fish migration routes. The promise of low-cost energy clashes with one detail: the sea doesn't sign contracts.
Ocean-2, a rule from the blue
Ocean-2 is a step forward, perhaps. Panthalassa dreams of terawatt grids, green hydrogen, autonomous energy islands. But the sea teaches an ancient lesson: you can design, test, calculate, but nature has the final say.
The question remains hanging, like a buoy in a storm: can we really convince the ocean to work for us, or do we work for it?
Future perspective: If Ocean-2 scales up, it could power coastal microgrids or produce green hydrogen. But the cost per kWh must fall below 10 cents to compete with solar. For now, the sea is watching and waiting.
