TECH & AI
If there were any doubt that necessity is the mother of invention, then the race to power AI has all but confirmed it. Since the AI boom began in earnest in 2022, one of the global economy’ s biggest priorities has been finding ways to power the technology, with companies the world over vying to find solutions.
It is well known that AI programmes – and the data centres that prop them up – are huge consumers of energy.
In fact, the International Energy Agency projects that the sector’ s energy consumption is expected to grow 30 % a year until 2030, by which point AI will account for 3 % of all the world’ s energy use.
This huge spike in demand has led to some unusual, innovative developments in recent years, including rebooted nuclear power plants, satellite solar arrays and even investments in fusion reactors.
One particularly unconventional approach to the data centre dilemma has been wave power – an often overlooked form of renewable energy.
Panthalassa, an Oregon-based start-up that has spent a decade developing its wave energy technology, recently emerged as a frontrunner in this field. It takes its name from the‘ superocean’ that once surrounded Pangea before continental drift shaped the Earth as we know it today – an apt name for a company focused on harnessing the power of the sea.
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Wave energy is less intermittent than solar and wind, meaning these kinds of systems provide a steadier stream of power
54 July 2026