126 Int. J. Renewable Energy Technology, Vol. 11, No. 2, 2020 Copyright © 2020 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Assessment of currently available ocean wave energy conversion systems using technology readiness levels Praveen Malali* Center for Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering and Technology, RW-208C Rivers building, Mail Stop 133, East Carolina University, Greenville – 27858, North Carolina, USA Email: malalip17@ecu.edu *Corresponding author Kyle Marchand Department of Engineering, College of Engineering and Technology, East Carolina University, Greenville – 27858, North Carolina, USA Email: marchandk15@students.ecu.edu Abstract: Ocean waves are a huge, untapped source with a higher energy density than solar and wind energy. Over the years, numerous designs for ocean wave energy converter systems (OWECS) have been proposed. This paper provides a comprehensive review and assessment of currently available OWECS using technology readiness levels (TRLs) scale developed by the US Department of Energy. TRLs are used by numerous industries to assess technical maturity and functional readiness of new technologies. The study finds that there are 20 OWECS which are at various stages of technological development. Out of these, 14, five and two OWECS are intended for deployment at near-shore, off-shore and on-shore locations, respectively. The study shows that OWECS technology is diverse and relatively immature compared to solar and wind energy technology. Finally, the study reveals a lack of convergence towards a single OWECS that is capable of energy extraction from on-shore, near-shore and off-shore locations. Keywords: ocean wave energy; wave energy converter; functional readiness; deployment location; technology readiness level; TRL. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Malali, P. and Marchand, K. (2020) ‘Assessment of currently available ocean wave energy conversion systems using technology readiness levels’, Int. J. Renewable Energy Technology, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp.126–146. Biographical notes: Praveen Malali is presently serving as the Director of Research at the Center for Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engineering, East Carolina University. He received his BE in 2006 in Industrial Engineering from BMS College of Engineering, Bangalore, India, MS in 2010 and PhD in