The International Energy Agency’s Ocean Energy Systems Technology Collaboration Program (IEA-OES) has released its Annual Report: An Overview of Ocean Energy Activities in 2025.
Published in its 25th anniversary year, the report reflects how a quarter century of multilateral collaboration has strengthened the technical, environmental, and policy foundations of wave, tidal, ocean thermal, and salinity gradient technologies, which IEA-OES argues have positioned ocean energy as “a credible contributor to the global net zero transition.”
In 2025, IEA-OES aligned its activities with the international vision set out in the roadmap “Ocean Energy and Net Zero: An International Roadmap to Develop 300 GW of Ocean Energy by 2050,” structuring work around four strategic pillars: Market Pull, Technology Push, Infrastructure, and Regulatory Development.
Across member countries, ocean energy technologies demonstrated increasing maturity, the report found. Devices operated for extended periods in real-sea conditions, pilot arrays advanced toward pre-commercial scale, and regulatory and planning frameworks became clearer in several jurisdictions. Thus, IEA-OES argues the sector is progressively building operational evidence, investor confidence, and integration with broader offshore energy strategies.
As IEA-OES marks 25 years of international collaboration in 2026, IEA-OES says this report highlights the value of structured global cooperation in accelerating innovation while safeguarding marine ecosystems.
“Twenty-five years ago, ocean energy was largely a research ambition. Today, we see technologies operating for longer durations, clearer regulatory frameworks, and growing international alignment,” said Matthijs Soede, chair of IEA-OES. “The progress documented in this report demonstrates that sustained collaboration is essential to transforming innovation into credible clean energy solutions.”
Last year’s highlights include MeyGen Phase 1, the world’s largest operational tidal stream project, reaching a cumulative generation of 84 GWh in the UK; China’s “Endeavour” tidal unit exceeding 40 months of continuous grid connection; Minesto successfully upgrading its “Dragon 12” (1.2 MW) kite system in the Faroe Islands; and Ocean Energy Ltd. deploying the full-scale OE-35 buoy at the Navy’s test site in Hawaii.
The report notes that 2025 was a year of “steady progress” for both technology and policy, including improved maritime planning and greater coordination with other offshore activities and projects generating more real-world operational evidence. IEA-OES found that ocean energy policy and development across its member countries followed a “clear trend:” ocean energy technologies were increasingly integrated into broader energy transition strategies, even in cases where there were few support schemes specifically for “ocean energy.”
Additionally, the report found that ocean energy continued to move from R&D and prototype testing to a “more mature phase,” with devices spending more time in the water, more integration with real-world applications, and strengthening enabling conditions such as infrastructure and regulations.
Another trend noted in the report is the growth of hybrid solutions and shared offshore use space. Ocean energy is increasingly being combined with other activities like desalination, hydrogen production, powering offshore monitoring equipment, supporting microgrids, and integration with solar, wind, and storage. These solutions can help make projects more cost-effective, IEA-OES argues, especially for islands or remote coastal areas where access to energy is limited. IEA-OES argues, especially for islands or remote coastal areas where access to energy is limited.
