Modular and Low-Cost Marine Current Energy Converters

Aegis Technology Inc has teamed up with an end-user partner, Bioenno Tech (dba: Bioenno Power) to co-develop a novel class of transportable, small-scale renewable energy systems based on marine energy, including ocean current and river current energy resources. Bioenno has been manufacturing and marketing its popular solar-based renewable power packs (mobile energy storage systems) for years. Seeing the growing market opportunity in the blue economy, Bioenno intends to expand its energy storage product line to include the utilization of marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy sources. However, existing marine current energy converters still have high-cost barriers and technical challenges to overcome for a wide adoption of marine energy systems. In this project, Aegis has proposed to develop a modular and low- cost current energy converter to be integrated into Bioenno’s renewable energy storage system. The first demonstration unit will be a 2kW power generation device that is capable of converting ocean or river current into electricity. The raw electricity is then fed to Bioenno’s energy storage module to make a turn- key energy system. The stored renewable energy in the system can be used by residential homes, EV charging stations, and ocean observation and communication stations on the coastline. Most existing marine energy systems replicate the design of wind turbines for underwater uses. These fully submerged systems have high cost in manufacturing, maintenance, and operation. Instead, Aegis has proposed a novel class of current energy converters that apply an innovative design of vertical axis twin turbines that naturally place drivetrains and generators above the water surface, lowering maintenance and operation cost. It is important to note that this modular-designed, scalable converter system can be directly integrated with an existing renewable energy storage system so that the system will be ready for commercial applications. The research in Phase I will focus on design, construction, and test of a small-scale current energy converter prototype to validate turbine efficiency and system performance. Integration of this energy generation and the associated energy storage will be performed to form a complete marine based renewable energy storage system. One marine energy system prototype will be demonstrated to DOE at the end of the program and to general public for broader customer discovery. The modular, low-cost renewable energy system based on marine energy has many applications in the blue economy. It can provide clean and sustainable power to (1) ocean observation and communication instruments operated by DOE, NOAA, Navy, and scientific communities, (2) remote homes and islanded communities, such as many villages in Alaska, (3) Disaster preparedness and recovery in coastal areas, and (4) EV charging stations.