Bombora obtains US, AU patents for wave membrane tech

Bombora Wave Power has been granted patents both in the USA and Australia for its wave energy technology based on inflatable membranes.

The Australian wave energy developer Bombora has patented the technology for the extraction of energy from waves by using air-inflated rubber membranes mounted to a concrete structure on the sea floor, all arranged at an angle to the incoming waves.

“The patents demonstrate Bombora’s leadership in the use of large submerged membranes to generate electricity from the oceans vast wave energy resource. These patents pave the way to commercial applications of the technology and a brighter renewable energy future,” Bombora said on social media.

Bombora has implemented the technology in the design of its mWave wave energy converter, whose scaled version was tested at the Como Jetty, off Melville in Australia.

The company is pressing ahead with the development of full-scale 1.5MW wave energy converter prototype which will be deployed off Portugal.

As waves pass over the mWave, the air inside the membranes is squeezed into a duct and through a turbine. The turbine spins a generator to produce electricity.