WHAT IS WAVE ENERGY?

The waves are caused by wind energy

Who has not stood before the immensity of the sea and been fascinated? Who has ever wondered about its power and strength?

For it is no one’s secret that the sea, like many other elements that make up nature, holds many mysteries and legends.

And just as it is the favorite place to relax, be with family, be happy and enjoy life, is today one of the most studied sources of renewable energy today.

HOW CAN THE SEA PRODUCE ENERGY?

The waves are caused by wind energy that blows over the surface of the sea. These contain a large amount of energy, so that the oceans are large producers of energy determined for this case “wave”.

Waves can travel for thousands of kilometers and it is well known that a typical wave front meter can contain up to 10 kW of power, enough to feed an oven with the highest demand.

Then with the immensity of the sea and all its waves together, the energy generated can run entire cities without effort.

SO… HOW IS THAT ENERGY “TRAPPED”?

Since 1926*, Various studies have been carried out which have led, in the best of cases, to the installation of various industrial-scale devices in the experimental phase with a long history of successes and failures.

Generally speaking, every wave energy capture device has two main elements regardless of its topology, on the one hand the captor, a structural element responsible for transmitting in one way or another the natural movement of the waves to the transforming element called PTO (power take-off), the latter element being in charge of transforming this natural movement into electrical energy that can then be used or transmitted.

In March 2018 the SEA-TITAN project began, an H2020 project with a total of 11 entities involved at European level, focuses on the development of the last element described, the PTO, this piece is key in the process of energy capture and seeks to improve the efficiency of energy conversion, it is also intended to be developed in a way that the product is universal and can be adapted to multiple topologies of devices.

This is how SEA-TITAN, seeks to implement an innovative system environmentally responsible and of course optimal when generating this type of energy, which has made the European industry a world leader in wave energy.

*https://alpoma.net/tecob/?p=14081