Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) has released a video explaining the working principles behind its PowerBuoy wave energy technology.
The video features OPT’s Executive Vice President of Engineering and Operations, Mike Mekhiche, who showcased the PowerBuoy and explained its workings.
OPT’s PowerBuoy consists of a float, spar, and heave plate. The float moves up and down the spar in response to the motion of the waves, while the heave plate maintains the spar in a relatively stationary position.
The relative motion of the float with respect to the spar drives a mechanical system contained in the spar that converts the linear motion of the float into a rotary one.
Then, the rotary motion drives electrical generators that produce electricity for the payload or for export to nearby marine applications using a submarine electrical cable.
The PowerBuoy boasts a scalable, onboard battery system, and can act as an offshore Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) providing continuous power output for offshore applications, with the ability to operate in any ocean depth over 20 meters and up to 1,000 meters, according to OPT.
OPT’s first commercial PowerBuoy, the PB3, has been deployed off Japan earlier this year as part of the lease with Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding.
Last month, OPT informed the device is meeting all of its performance requirements after eight weeks of deployment off Japan.