A New Design for Deploying the Hydrokinetic Turbine to Harvest the Riverine Energy Energy
Low-cost, self-sustaining river energy converter enabling hydroelectricity without heavy infrastructure.
Researchers at Purdue University have developed a cost-effective way to deploy and retrieve a river current-energy converter to and from its working site. This is usually done by using crane boats or a ballast system but the I&OM costs of this method are significant. The advantages of this new design are that it is cost effective and can be implemented to existing systems. It is also a self-sustaining system removing the need for additional machines.
Advantages:
- Cost of maintenance, operation and installation costs will decrease.
- Does not need any additional machinery and is self-sustainable.
- Can be applied to existing systems
Potential Applications:
- It can be used to harness hydro electricity for developing countries wanting to invest in hydroelectricity.
Technology Validation:
- Testing the new design and seeing an improvement in efficiency.
TRL: 2
Intellectual Property:
Provisional-Gov. Funding, 2021-01-13, United States
Utility-Gov. Funding, 2022-01-10, United States
CON-Gov. Funding, 2024-02-22, United States
Keywords: river current energy converter,low cost hydroelectricity,renewable energy hydropower,deployable energy systems,self sustaining hydro device,hydrokinetic energy capture,developing country energy systems,portable hydroelectric converter,low maintenance hydropower,harnessing river currents