*2.1. Target Market for Commercialisation*

In order to setup the right frame for the economic assessment of a wave energy concept, it is important to identify the target market for commercialisation. For a wave energy technology aiming at the utility-scale market, the SET-Plan has defined an LCoE target in the range of 100 to 200 EUR/MWh [2]. These numbers can be compared to the target LCoE for offshore wind energy for 2030 of 65 EUR/MWh, including grid connection [13]. An exemption to this could be islands that are not connected to the mainland grid and have

their own power supply based on traditional diesel generators. In this case, a competitive LCoE to the diesel alternative depends on oil prices. These are variable and will fluctuate throughout the project lifetime, but something in the range of 300 to 400 EUR/MWh, as reported for Kiritimati Island, in the Pacific Ocean [14], seems reasonable. Similar values were reported in [15] for a diesel engine farm in the United Kingdom. As a comparison, in 2018, a value for diesel generation in the range of 560 to 730 EUR/MWh was reported for Christmas Island, Australia [16]. Overall, identifying the target market has a significant impact in the boundary conditions for the economic assessment. (Even though this work focuses on the target market, existing frameworks for accelerating the development of wave energy is not to be neglected when developing a new concept. See for example [17] for existing European frameworks.)
