Beneath the waves there is a source of power that is unlike anything else. Japanese engineers have built a leviathan that is capable of withstanding the strongest ocean currents to transform its flow into electricity.
IHI Corporation has been tinkering with the technology for over a decade, partnering with New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) to put their designs to the test.
In February, the project passed a major milestone with the completion of a successful three-and-a-half year field test.
Kairyu is a word that means more or less into the ocean current. The structure consists of a 20 meter long fuselage flanked by a pair of cylinders that hold a power generation system attached to an 11 meter long turbine blade.
IHI Corp. andNEDO are subsidiaries of IHI Corp.
When tethered to the ocean floor by an anchor line and power cables the device can orient itself to find the most efficient position to generate power from the push of a deep-water current.
Japan imports a lot of fossil fuels to power its economy. Japan is using its technological prowess to take advantage of renewable energy sources because of public sentiment against nuclear power.
The mountainous Japanese archipelago doesn't provide much scope for wind turbine or solar panels. It's not possible to balance the fluctuations in renewables through energy trade with a location far away.
The nation has a large amount of coastal water. The ocean is under the influence of the North Pacific gyre.
Where the gyre meets Japan, it flows into a strong current.
The amount of electricity that could be generated by the energy present in the current could be the same as the country's current power generation.
It's difficult to use the ocean's potential as a power source. The surface of the water is where typhoons can destroy power stations.
As it floats towards the surface, the drag created creates the necessary power for the turbine. The device is stable due to the fact that each blade rotates in an opposing direction.
Kairyu was able to produce 100 kilowatts of power in a flow of two to four knots.
It might look like small sparks compared to an average offshore wind turbine. Withstanding what nature can throw at it, Kairyu could soon have a monster sibling swinging 20-meter-long turbine to generate a more respectable 2megawatts.
We could see a farm of power generators feeding electricity into the grid in the future. It's not yet known whether Kairyu can scale up.
Despite huge interest, attempts to wring watt out of the tides, waves, and currents of the open ocean usually end in failure. There are many challenges that need to be overcome to see projects like this through.
If IHI Corp. can overcome them, ocean power could provide as much as 70% of Japan's energy needs.
The ocean's vast supply of energy is bound to be harnessed with the help of advances in materials science and a better understanding of the marine environment.
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