A Wave Energy Converter (WEC) is a device designed to harness the ocean wave energy to generate electricity. The commercial viability of WECs depends largely on reducing the cost per kWh to make it competitive against other sources of renewable energy.

This thesis proposes a novel WEC. Simplicity is a key feature of the proposed design with the objective of reducing the manufacturing costs and circumventing issues associated with current WECs, such as installation complexity. impact on marine life, survivability and navegability of vessels.

The performance of the proposed unidirectional Flow Collective Air Pumps (UFCAP) WEC has been evaluated using analytical and computational models for a variety of operating conditions. A parametric design study has been carried out to evaluate the proposed design in operation off the coast of Vancouver Island.