Sweden’s most visible clean-tech manufacturer in northern Portugal has used a diplomatic visit to restate its ambitions — and to put a larger number on them. CorPower Ocean, the Stockholm-based wave-energy developer, said on 4 November that it had hosted a delegation from the Swedish-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce, led by Sweden’s ambassador to Portugal, Johan Pehrson, together with representatives of Portuguese and Swedish industry, at its manufacturing and operations facilities in Viana do Castelo.
The company used the occasion to describe its planned VianaWave project as a 15 MW park incorporating 45 commercial-scale wave energy converters, with construction expected to begin in 2028. When NorthSouth HQ reported on the project in April, it was presented as a 10 MW array backed by €40 million of EU funding. CorPower did not give a new investment figure or say how the larger scheme will be financed.
What was on the agenda
According to CorPower’s account, the discussions centred on Europe’s growing demand for competitive clean power for industry and data centres, which the company argues will gravitate to the places with the lowest-cost round-the-clock clean energy mix. Its pitch is that wave energy, which produces day and night and is often available when solar output falls and wind fluctuates, can complement Iberia’s solar and wind fleets and help deliver some of the cheapest firm clean power in Europe.
“Portugal has all the ingredients required to become a global leader in wave energy,” said co-founder and chief executive Patrik Möller. “The country combines an exceptional wave resource with world-class maritime expertise, industrial capabilities and political ambition. We believe wave energy can become a new export industry for Portugal while helping deliver affordable, reliable and home-grown clean electricity.”
From demonstration to utility scale
Portugal has carried CorPower from prototype to commercial readiness. The company demonstrated its first commercial-scale C4 machine in Portuguese waters off Aguçadoura and has built manufacturing and testing capabilities in Viana do Castelo. It now says it is focused on scaling towards utility-scale projects, and that the next phase will bring more investment in manufacturing capacity, supply chains, project deployment and local partnerships — which it presents as openings for Portuguese companies across the value chain, from engineering and ports to offshore operations, vessel services and logistics.
A Nordic industrial cluster on the Lima
The visit also underlines how Viana do Castelo has become one of the densest points of Nordic industrial activity in Portugal. Besides CorPower, the town hosts the Nordic EPOD data-centre power-module factory, which shipped its first unit for export in October. An ambassador-led chamber visit to a single Swedish plant is a signal that Stockholm sees the site as a showcase rather than a one-off research project.
Why it matters for the corridor
For Portuguese suppliers, CorPower’s scaling plan is the practical news: 45 converters means serial fabrication, moorings, marine operations and maintenance contracts on Portuguese soil, rather than one-off prototype work. For Nordic investors and utilities, a 15 MW array with construction pencilled in for 2028 is a wave project that starts to look like an infrastructure asset rather than a demonstrator. The open questions — financing for the enlarged park, a grid-connection timetable and the first named Portuguese supply-chain partners — are the ones to watch.
Sources: CorPower Ocean, account of the Swedish-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce visit to Viana do Castelo, published via Ocean News & Technology and Offshore Source (4 November 2026); Enlit World (5 November 2026); NorthSouth HQ coverage of April and October 2026.