WIPO China: Eco Wave Power - Changing the World One Wave at a Time
本文原载于2023年第2期《WIPO杂志》。作者为凯瑟琳·朱厄尔，产权组织信息和数字外联司。
The article was originally published in the issue 2/2023 of WIPO Magazine. The author is Catherine Jewell, Information and Digital Outreach Division, WIPO.
Inna Braverman说：“我们的使命是通过开发商业上可行的波浪能技术并确保其得到广泛使用，逐波改变世界。” (视频).
“Our mission is to change the world one wave at a time, by developing commercially viable wave energy technology and ensuring its widespread use,” says Inna Braverman (video).
面对日益严峻的气候问题和不断上涨的能源价格，人们对满足能源需求的可再生能源的兴趣日益增长。以色列公司生态波浪发电公司（Eco Wave Power）开发的一项开创性技术可利用海浪的力量来发电，提供了一种富有潜力且可负担得起的新型清洁能源来源。Inna Braverman是生态波浪发电公司的联合创始人和首席执行官，也是可再生能源领域的领军专家，她致力于“逐波改变世界”。Braverman解释了生态波浪发电公司的解决方案如何在其他公司失败的地方取得成功。她讨论了知识产权对于企业的极端重要性，在2023年世界知识产权日之际，她鼓励女性要相信自己，追求自己的梦想。
Amid growing climate concerns and energy price hikes, there is growing interest in renewables to meet out energy needs. A pioneering technology developed by Israeli company, Eco Wave Power, which harnesses the power of the waves to generate electricity, offers a promising new source of affordable, clean energy. Inna Braverman, co-founder and CEO of Eco Wave Power and a leading expert in renewable energy is committed to changing “the world one wave at a time.” Braverman explains how Eco Wave Power’s solution works where others have failed. She discusses the critical importance of intellectual property to the company and for World Intellectual Property Day 2023, she encourages women to believe in themselves and to pursue their ambitions.
WIPO杂志：您是如何进入可再生能源领域的？
WM: How did you get into renewables?
Inna Braverman：我自己的故事很特殊。我是以色列公民，住在以色列，但我于1986年出生在乌克兰，恰在切尔诺贝利核反应堆爆炸之后。我是遭受污染伤害的婴儿之一。当时我停止了呼吸，进入临床死亡。幸运的是，我的母亲是一名护士，她看到我没有了呼吸，对我进行了复苏抢救。她挽救了我的生命。在成长过程中，我的家人总是告诉我，我有过第二次生命的机会。这让我意识到我必须做一些有意义的事情，并产生影响。当我发现可再生能源时，这对我来说是一个明显要选择的方向。
Inna Braverman: I have a unique personal story. I am an Israeli citizen and live in Israel, but was born in Ukraine in 1986, just after the Chernobyl nuclear reactor exploded. I was one of the babies hurt by the pollution. I stopped breathing and suffered a clinical death. Fortunately, my mother, a nurse, saw that I wasn't breathing and resuscitated me. She saved my life. Growing up, my family always told me I had a second chance at life. That made me realize I had to do something meaningful and make an impact. When I discovered renewable energy, it was the obvious direction for me.
为什么选择波浪能？
Why wave energy?
波浪能真正可以改变世界。作为间歇性最少的可再生能源，它可以帮助风能和太阳能发电更为稳定。此外，世界上有三分之二的人口生活在距离海岸200公里的范围内。据世界能源理事会称，波浪能至少可以提供目前世界发电量两倍的电量。政策制定者确实有必要认真对待波浪能，以实现其到2050年净零碳的承诺。
Wave energy can really change the world. As the least intermittent source of renewable energy, it can help make wind and solar power more stable. Also, two-thirds of the world's population live within 200 kilometers of the coast. According to the World Energy Council, wave energy can supply at least twice the amount of electricity the world currently produces. Policymakers really need to take wave energy seriously to meet their 2050 net-zero carbon commitments.
通过利用现有的海洋结构在岸上或近岸进行建设，生态波浪发电公司使波浪能源具有成本效益、可靠、可保且环保。（图：Courtesy of Eco Wave Power）
By building onshore or nearshore using existing marine structures, Eco Wave Power makes wave energy cost-efficient, reliable, insurable, and environmentally friendly. (Photo: Courtesy of Eco Wave Power)
请介绍一下您的商业模式。
Tell us about your business model.
我们的商业模式是建造、拥有和运营波浪能发电站，并通过向电网出售波浪产生的电力来在25年间创收，这是我们系统的预期寿命。
Our business model is to build, own and operate wave energy power stations and to generate revenue by selling the wave-generated electricity to the grid for 25 years - the expected lifespan of our systems.
建立波浪能发电站需要哪些程序？
What is the process of setting up a wave energy power station?
首先要与港务当局或项目场地的所有者签署一份特许权协议，以确保在25年的时间里使用海洋结构的权利。然后我们会做一个可行性研究。如果研究结果是肯定的，就将进入设计阶段。随后是电站的建设、运营和维护。
You start with signing a concession agreement with the port authority or owner of the project site to secure the right to use the marine structure for a 25-year period. Then we do a feasibility study. If that is positive, we move to the design phase. Construction, operation and maintenance of the power station follow.
伙伴关系对公司是否重要？
Are partnerships important for the company?
我们的战略伙伴关系对我们非常重要。例如，EDF可再生能源公司是我们在以色列雅法港项目的一个重要战略伙伴。作为以色列领先的太阳能供应商，该公司在可再生能源领域有丰富的经验、人脉、知识和技术诀窍，特别是在将发电站接入电网方面。这样的合作关系在技术上对我们很有帮助，并能缩短许可、电网并网过程，等等。
Our strategic partnerships are very important to us. For example, EDF Renewables IL is an important strategic partner for our Jaffa Port project in Israel. As the leading solar energy provider in Israel, they have significant experience, contacts, knowledge and know-how in the renewable energy space, especially for connecting power stations to the grid. Such partnerships help us technologically and can shorten licensing, grid-collection processes and so on.
知识产权在您的企业中发挥什么作用？
What role does intellectual property play in your business?
知识产权对我们非常重要。我们是一家在新市场上拥有开创性的波浪能技术的公司，之前没有其他公司实施过这种技术，所以我们绝对希望通过坚实的知识产权来保护我们的技术。这就是我们与竞争对手的区别所在。我们拥有精心管理的专利组合，其中包括17项专利（12项已授权专利）和多项正在申请的专利。
Intellectual property (IP) is very important to us. We’re a company in a new market with pioneering wave energy technology that no other company has executed before, so we definitely want to protect our technology with solid IP rights. That’s what differentiates us from our competitors. We have a carefully managed patent portfolio, which includes 17 patents (12 granted patents) and patents pending.
知识产权是投资者的一个核心考虑因素。我们拥有的保护越多，投资者就越能看到投资公司的价值。如果没有知识产权，还有什么可以阻止其他公司开发同样的技术？对于像生态波浪发电公司这样的技术公司而言，拥有坚实的专利组合至关重要。
IP is a core consideration for investors. The more protection we have, the more value investors will see in investing in the company. Without IP rights, what is stopping another company from developing the same technology? Having a solid patent portfolio is essential for a technology company like Eco Wave Power.
对您来说，《专利合作条约》（PCT）的优势是什么？
What for you were the advantages of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)?
当创办公司而不确定将在哪些市场开展业务时，PCT就是一个好选择。它为我们赢得了决定在哪里获得专利保护所需的时间，并为我们节省了时间和金钱。在提交专利国际申请时获得的国际检索报告也非常有用。
When you start a company and aren’t sure which markets you’re going to operate in, the PCT is a good choice. It bought us the time we needed to decide where we were going to secure patent protection and saved us time and money. The international search report that you get when you file an international patent application was also very useful.
请谈一谈您本人作为女性的创业历程。
Tell us about your own entrepreneurial journey as a woman.
成为一名企业家并非易事。有许多起起伏伏。而成为一名女性企业家，又增加了一层困难，特别是在像能源这样一个男性主导的部门，很少有女性担任高管职务。在我创办生态波浪发电公司时，每次我进入会议室要介绍我们令人兴奋的技术，所有的男人就都开始点饮料。他们看到一名女性，就以为我是某人的助手。最近，当公司在纳斯达克斯德哥尔摩上市时，有人建议我让出首席执行官一职，因为我是一名女性，不会受到重视。这完全违背了生态波浪发电公司的基因。我们推崇女性的力量。所以，我当然没有让位。许多人告诉女性，我们是弱者，我们没有能力，我们应该让位。但是如果我们让位，我们的女儿也会让位，她们的女儿也会让位。因此，如果我们对某件事情真正抱有热情，就需要坚持下去。我们绝对不应该让位。
Being an entrepreneur is hard. There are many ups and downs. Being a female entrepreneur adds another layer of difficulty, especially in a very male-dominated sector like energy, where very few women hold executive positions. When I started Eco Wave Power, every time I went into a conference room to present our exciting technology all the men started ordering drinks. They saw a woman and assumed I was somebody's assistant. More recently, when the company went public on NASDAQ Stockholm, I was advised to step down as CEO because I was a woman and would not be taken seriously. That is totally against the DNA of Eco Wave Power. We celebrate girl power. So, of course, I didn’t step down. Many people tell women that we are weak, and incapable and that we should step down. But if we step down, our daughters will step down, and their daughters will step down. So, if something is our true passion, we need to persist. We definitely should not step down.
生态波浪发电公司技术的鸟瞰图，它可以从0.5米高的波浪发电。它的浮体装有传感器，当海浪过高时，它们会自动升出水面。（图：Courtesy of Eco Wave Power）
An aerial view of Eco Wave Power’s technology, which can generate electricity from wave heights of 0.5 meter. Its floaters are fitted with sensors and when waves become too high, they lift out of the water automatically. (Photo: Courtesy of Eco Wave Power)
在线阅读全文，进一步了解生态波浪发电公司。
Read the full article online and learn more about Eco Wave Power.
欢迎扫描下列二维码进行WIPO杂志订阅！
Scan the QR code below to subscribe to WIPO Magazine!
订阅步骤：
Simply follow these steps:
1. 在第一步中选择"WIPO杂志“；
Select "WIPO Magazine" in the step 1；
2. 在第二步中填写必填项信息；
Fill in the required information in the step 2;
3. 根据个人邮箱收到的验证邮件进行确认；
Confirm your subscription by clicking the verification link in the email sent to your inbox.
订阅成功，阅读愉快！
That's it! You're now subscribed to WIPO Magazine. Enjoy your reading!
点击阅读原文查看关于WIPO中国办事处的更多信息。
Click on Read more for more information about the WIPO Office in China.
