Perth-based technology company Bombora Wave Power has commenced testing of wave energy collector device on the Swan River of Australia.
The mid-scale wave energy collector has been designed to harness the power of waves to produce electricity.
The field test involves a 7m-long structure, which contains a long and flexible blue membrane, placed in the water next to a jetty.
Anchored close to shore, the membrane is moved along with the water movement, forcing air through a turbine to generate electricity.
Bombora CEO Sam Leighton said: : "Bombora has previously completed small scale trials in a collaborative effort with the Australian Maritime College, four West Australian Universities and the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre.
"We are now in the advanced planning stage for a full-scale commercial scale trial at one of a number of prospective testing sites."
Bombora plans to assess number of system configurations in order to optimize the key design and control system features prior to commencing full-scale commercial scale trials.
ScienceNetwork Western Australia (SNWA) cited Bombora founder Shawn Ryan as saying: "We expect the prototype will be there for six to 12 months."
"On a good day, we expect to generate up to a kilowatt of power a day, which would be enough to power approximately two average houses."
A technology evaluation agreement has already been signed by Bombora with a potential customer, Anoa Power of Indonesia.
In 2016, Bombora is planning to develop full-size electricity generating wave machine.
"We’re investigating opportunities in number of different countries, including Indonesia, Portugal and Scotland and of course, Australia," Ryan added.
Image: The Bombora Wavepower will undergo testing at Como Jetty, Australia. Photo: courtesy of Bombora Wavepower.