The 15th European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference
EWTEC2023 |3rd – 7th September 2023 in Bilbao, Spain
The 15th European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference (EWTEC 2023) was organised by the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) through the ‘Bilbao School of Engineering’ from 3-7 September 2023, welcoming the wave and tidal community to the Basque Country. The conference was hosted at the Paraninfo Hall of the University, designed by the laureated Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza which opens out onto the estuary and is next to the Guggenheim Museum.
The event, which had 2 bronze sponsors (Safewave and Supergen ORE) received 413 submissions across the 12 conference tracks, 37 were desk rejected and a further 128 declined following review. In total, 261 full papers were accepted for oral presentation and 18 for for poster presentation.
The presentation of the scientific papers were presented across 43 oral sessions from Monday morning to Thursday noon, with 9 side-events and a number of scoail events alongside opening and closing ceremonies. Poster sessions were held during the coffee breaks where each poster was alloted a specific day/time of presentation for people interested to be sure to have the author explanations.
Conference Awards
A closing award ceremony took place with gold, silver and bronze awards presented to the best articles publised in IMEJ. Bronze was awarded to Ali Mohtat from Atargis Energy Corporation for “Efficiency Analysis of Cycloidal Wave Energy Convertor Under Real-Time Dynamic Control Using a 3D Radiation Model“. Silver was awarded to Peter Pelz from Technische Universität Darmstadt for “Misled by Betz and Unseady Flow: Review on Turbine Arrays Falsely Deemed Optimal“. Gold was awarded to Ignazio Maria Viola from Institute for Energy Systems, University of Edinburgh for “Morphing Blades: Theory and Proof of Principles“.
The EWTEC 2023 Management Committee would like to thank all delegates, authors, reviewers, exhibitors, sponsors, presenters and speakers for their contributions and support. Below follows a brief conference summary.
Sunday
The event began on Sunday 3rd September with the 4th EWTEC Regatta, which took place in the Bay of Bilbao from 10:00-14:30. 21 participants were distributed on 3 sailing ships, with logistics (ships, security, regatta supervision, etc..) handled by the local sailing club La mar en Calma. In the evening, from 19:00 to 22:00, all delegates were invited to a Welcome reception, where they could register for the conference and collect their conference packs, as well as listen to the welcome speeches and also enjoy some local cocktails.
Monday
- Welcome and introduction to the EWTEC 2023 Conference from Professor Jesús M. Blanco – Chair of EWTEC 2023
- Welcome from the EWTEC Executive Board from Cameron Johnstone – Chair of the EWTEC Executive Board
- Keynote Speaker 1 – Prof. Iñigo Losada, IH Cantabria
- Keynote Speaker 2 – Dr. Andrew Smith, Orbital Power
This was followed by lunch, and then the oral presentation sessions, with 3 side events taking place inbetween.
The Monday evening social event was a guided tour through the old town, so called “pintxos route”, sampling local cuisine from local bars/restaurants.
Tuesday
After a full day of presentations (15 sessions), there were 3 side events in the late afternoon and a technical committee meeting followed by a track directors dinner.
Wednesday
Another day full of presentations (10 sessions), plus 3 side events, was followed by the main social event of the conference – the gala dinner which was hosted at the Guggenheim Museum of Bilbao. The museum was opened exclusively for guests who were then called to sit down by the “Txalaparta”. Once all were seated the dinner was officially inaugurated by a welcome “Aurresku” in front of the stage for the presidential table on behalf of all attendees. The menu was prepares by the renowned Michelin star chef Josean Alija and was accompanied by songs from the Choral. Following the meal there was a commendation for Prof. Falçao followed by IMEJ prize giving chaired by Prof. Bahaj.
Thursday and Friday
The EWTEC 2023 Organising Committee would like to thank the sponsors, exhibitors, side event hosts, delegates, authors, keynote speakers, guest speakers, reviewers, student ambassadors’ technical committee and Board for their support. The assistance from the University of the Basque Country events team, catering department, campus support team were also invaluable.
