Brand new concept within wave energy extraction

Vigor Wave Energy AB is developing a brand new concept within wave energy extraction with high energy levels and a flexible design, combined with low operating costs. The principle is patented and theoretically proven, and the concept is just about to be verified by scale tests, in our own testing facility with our own wave tank.

The main component in our concept is a flexible hose floating at the water surface, following the motion of the ocean waves. By letting in seawater and air in the hose creates batches that "surf" forward inside the hose, building up pressure. At the end of the hose the pressurized seawater is led through a turbine which in turn drives a generator that produces electricity.

In our concept there is only seawater and air that absorbs the energy of the waves, nothing else. We don’t need any mechanical assemblies or hydraulic systems, gear boxes or other maintenance intensive technical systems and components. Our flexible hose means less wear, greater resistance to the marine environment and we can largely make use of already existing, known technology. The design also means that we don’t have maintenance intensive installations under the water.

Advanced CFD analysis shows that one single 400 meters long hose has the capacity to generate up to 6 MW and by connecting many hoses to one coherent unit, we can create power plants that can generate up to 100 MW per turbine and generator. Since we are not restricted to a particular wave pattern, but can exploit a wide range of height, speed and length of the waves, we reach at the same time a high utilization rate.

2011 will be devoted to testing, validation and product development. A self designed wave tank for scale tests is currently being built at Chalmers University in Gothenburg and the goal is during 2011 demonstrate that the principle works in practice in the form of a ¼-scale prototype. 2012, we plan to have a prototype in the sea and 1 year later, we plan to have a functioning unit that generates electricity, stationed in or near Sweden. We plan to deliver our first wave power unit during 2014/2015.

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Christian Stübner CEO