The next era of artificial intelligence will be constrained by energy rather than compute power. As accelerated computing spreads across AI factories, agentic AI, industrial AI, edge computing and physical AI including robotics and autonomous systems, global electricity demand is rising at an unprecedented pace. In many regions, grid infrastructure expansion requires years of permitting, transmission upgrades, land acquisition and capital investment.

Eco Wave Power, part of NVIDIA's Inception startup program Sustainable Futures initiative, is developing technology powered by NVIDIA AI infrastructure and digital twins that converts energy from ocean waves into clean electricity using existing marine infrastructure. By deploying wave energy generation closer to areas of growing power demand including ports, industrial zones and future AI infrastructure hubs, the company is helping address this infrastructure challenge.

According to the Energy Information Administration, wave energy could produce over 60 percent of annual energy consumption in the United States alone. The technology uses floating infrastructure attached to breakwaters or sea walls to capture power generated by waves breaking against shorelines. Because seawater is roughly 800 times denser than air, much larger amounts of energy can be generated using smaller devices than wind turbines require.

Eco Wave Power distinguishes itself by placing computers, sensors, hydraulic conversion and electrical equipment on land at centers rather than in the floaters, keeping expensive hardware dry and safe from storms. This solves a previous bottleneck that plagued earlier wave energy companies.

Wave energy is the least intermittent renewable source available. As Eco Wave Power cofounder and CEO Inna Braverman explains, solar energy is affected by night, winter, cloud coverage and pollution, whereas wave energy can generate power around the clock.

Digital twins of wave patterns and floating infrastructure built with NVIDIA Omniverse libraries simulate wave conditions, structural behavior, deployment configurations and operational scenarios before physical installation begins. NVIDIA accelerated computing and AI technologies enable real-time optimization through predictive analytics, anomaly detection, environmental forecasting and predictive maintenance. AI can also orchestrate energy-aware computing by aligning intensive workloads with periods of stronger renewable generation.

Eco Wave Power currently operates projects at Jaffa Port in Israel developed with EDF Power Solutions and the Israeli Energy Ministry, and at the Port of Los Angeles developed with AltaSea and Shell. The company is developing additional projects in Portugal at the Port of Leixões, Suao Port in Taiwan and Mumbai, India with Bharat Petroleum.

Pilots are already underway at the Port of Los Angeles to demonstrate how wave energy can be the sole power source for a data center without using existing grid energy. AI software serves as the control layer for this pilot, monitoring and predicting when waves will be stronger based on weather patterns and accordingly allocating more intensive compute tasks for these periods. As Braverman states, data centers are increasingly moving toward coastal locations because they need cooling and water, making them ideal candidates for wave energy integration.