Ocean Wave Energy Converter is a technology developed by researchers at IIT Madras to produce power from waves. Trial runs have already been successful.
1 MW of electricity from ocean waves to be generated
The “Ocean Wave Energy Converter” was developed by researchers at IIT Madras to harness the power of waves to produce electricity. Trials on the device were successfully completed in the second week of November 2022.
The instrument was positioned six kilometres off the coast of Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, at a depth of 20 metres. This technology aims to generate 1 MW of electricity from ocean waves during the next three years.
ATTAINING GOALS FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY
The success of this initiative will enable the achievement of numerous objectives, including the Sustainable Development Goals and the UN Ocean Decade.
India has established objectives for the advancement of clean energy, deep-water missions, and the blue economy. As a response to climate change, it might help India reach its goals of producing 500 GW of renewable electricity by 2030.
This is accomplished by providing energy to adjacent payloads, such as those on the seafloor and in the water column, as well as to payloads that are integrated into or located on the device itself.
The stakeholders being targeted include the defence and security, oil and gas, and communication industries.
Professor Abdus Samad, an ocean engineering faculty member at IIT Madras who has been researching wave energy for more than ten years, served as the mission’s commander. He established the innovative Wave Energy and Fluids Engineering Laboratory at IIT Madras (WEFEL). His team developed a scaled-down model and tested it.
The group is also investigating additional applications for this technology, such as powering smaller underwater devices like data buoys and navigational buoys.
The professor highlighted the significance of this initiative by stating, “India has a 7,500 km long coastline that can generate 54 GW of power, meeting a sizeable portion of the nation’s energy needs. Tidal, wave, and ocean thermal energy are all stored in seawater. Among them, India has the potential to harness 40 GW of wave energy.
Furthermore, according to Professor Abdus Samad, “Even single devices in various locations around the Indian coastline might create enormous amounts of clean power.”
“We are also contemplating placing multiple devices in an array configuration for maximum wave power extraction from the location. Our vision is to make India sustainable by tapping the marine energy and net zero carbon emission to mitigate climate impact,” the official continued.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Australian Government provided financing for the study through the “Innovative Research Project” of IIT Madras, TBI-KIET under the DST Nidhi-Prayas Scheme, and the Australian Alumni Grant Scheme 2022.
Together with the Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology (MNNIT) Allahabad and a startup company called Virya Paramita Energy (VPE) Pvt. Ltd., IIT Madras conducted this test. The electrical storage system was developed by the West Bengal-based GKC Institute of Engineering and Technology and MCKV Institute of Engineering.
With the help of Waterfront Engineering and Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, the system was put into the water.
HOW DOES THE DEVICE OPERATE?
The Sanskrit translation of the product’s name, Sindhuja-I, is “made from the ocean.” The system consists of a buoy that floats, a spar, and an electrical module.
Both the wave and the buoy exhibit up and down oscillation. In the current design, a long rod known as a spar can pass through the centre of a device known as a “buoy” that resembles a balloon. The spar can be fastened to the seafloor and won’t be impacted by passing waves, however the buoy will move up and down and generate relative motion between them. Because of the relative motion, an electric generator can rotate and produce power.
