signed a cooperation agreement for the development of High Temperature Superconductor (HTS) Linear Generators for use in OPT’s PowerBuoy® wave energy converters
Business Profile
Wave power differs from tidal in several ways but mainly by its nature. There are many more ways of extracting the power: Surface or Subsea, Oscillating Water Column (OWC), Point absorber or Overtopping are the technologies most prevalent.
There are also many ways in which the device developers of these basic technologies extract the energy. However, electrically there are really only two approaches – rotary or linear generation.
A rotary generator may be driven directly by mechanics, via a secondary hydraulic system or by an air turbine.
It is also possible to produce a direct power take off by use of a linear permanent magnet generator (LPMG). This has been successfully demonstrated by Archimedes Wave Swing (AWS). This linear permanent magnet generator, the worlds largest, was built in Converteam’s factory.
In addition Converteam are working closely with an Air Turbine developer on state-of-the-art solutions which will provide major benefits to the long term prospects for OWC’s. The development is seen to be an enabling technology due to the innovative approach by the team.