Sea Wave Energy Limited (SWEL) is a research and development company based in Cyprus and the U.K. They designed and developed a wave energy converter (WEC) called the Wave Line Magnet, which converts energy from ocean waves to store for later use. The design was developed over 10 years and involves multiple patents for this unique technology that can pull useable energy straight off of the movement of the surface of water.
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“[This] technology is a robust and durable WEC that can supply substantial power on demand at a low cost, with minimal maintenance and can be deployed in any wave environment,” the company said.
Related: Floating platform “blowhole” can generate energy from waves
Clean energy is the obvious and necessary future for the planet. With wave energy generation, it is creating a viable alternative of renewable energy for the planet, which is mostly oceans anyways.
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So what kind of deployment would be required of these devices to equal fossil fuel needed by the current Earth population to power society? SWEL claims that a single Waveline Magnet device, scaled to suit the wave climate at EMEC (European Marine Energy Center), would satisfy more than the hub’s current grid-connection capabilities. Additionally, SWEL devices have been developed in wave tanks and tested in live sea environments. R&D indicates that the current model can produce substantial power levels at low cost to compete with non-renewable sources.
The wave energy converter is designed to embrace the surface of the sea, or the “wave line” as it is often referred to by SWEL. This allows the WEC to become one moving mass with the wave itself. Thereby, creating a unique interaction that allows SWEL to regulate how much energy is extracted from the wave in a controlled and non-disruptive manner. The seamless and frictionless interaction is a matchless characteristic of the technology. It allows it to work in harmony and in synchronization with the deployed sea area, producing high levels of power irrespective of the wave profile or weather conditions.
Furthermore, the wave energy converter is designed to hug the surface of the ocean, or the “wave line.” This allows the WEC to become one moving mass with the wave. This allows SWEL to regulate how much energy is extracted from the wave in a controlled manner. The frictionless interaction allows these devices to harvest energy from the ocean regardless of calm or stormy weather conditions.
Even cooler, the SWEL magnet devices can be produced using recycled materials, preventing them from becoming part of the ocean pollution. SWEL devices are also modular, which lowers maintenance cost and timelines for easy repairs. A low mass of materials is needed and no special manufacturing is required, making these cheap and quick to produce. It also does not require wasteful amounts of materials to construct.
You might someday soon have your energy generated by wave magnet devices like these deployed across the oceans. SWEL has created a fleet of generators that offer a levelized cost of energy below the 2020 target.
Images via SWEL
