The future of baseload clean energy; low cost, clean power, day, and night.

Suitable for mass production on continental scales.

A modular offshore platform concept that is free from the headaches of storms and mooring costs.

An Easy to quantify modular concept.

The concept is rooted in the assumed value of simply using the same unit that would be the first single onshore and offshore unit. How can we use the same unit? This concept illustrates how.

The unit’s design was based around the desire to use a very inexpensive motor that is on the market, thoroughly tested and highly recommended. The power range of this motor suits lower scale opportunities. Of course, this concept can use power unit designs that use larger motors and larger heat exchangers and in that case the power output of the platform could be greater than an entire wind farm.

The value of the smaller motor is the very low cost compared to typical higher power ‘off the shelf’ turbogenerators, the cost difference being over ‘£1million per 1 MW of turbogenerator.’  The agony of finding early-stage grants and selling out to new investors might just be avoidable or far more progress can be made for the same investment.

With one unit tested, the unit is ‘bankable’, and with water flowing, so too the cold-water delivery system. A platform can operate with 1 unit. Later, more units can be added and the source of funding can be broadened to later stage VC firms and banks without further financial losses that make no money.
The prospect of this becoming a reality has thrilled us for years.

The modular concept should help to reduce how opaque a system like this is to investors because the costs are known, and the system can be bankable for a lower investment and risk, hopefully resulting in investment and large revenue generating projects faster, and for a lower cost to new and existing stakeholders.

Rather than depending on ‘foreign’ experts and their trustworthiness the main costs of this platform concept can already be known using the skills that we have already.
Indeed the costs of this platform with the chosen motor and the cold-water delivery system are potentially so low that a venture to install and test one could reasonably be managed by a ‘small company’.

‘Oh really*!? How so?*%?’

A submerged platform solves two of OTEC’s greatest problems.

One of the major problems with traditional OTEC is the offshore platform requirement. 50 % of quoted costs tend to be the cost of the platform.

This platform follows more recent trends in offshore engineering that do away with large, moored surface objects and ‘the financial and intellectual racket’ that surrounds this kind of problem.

Without the motion of the platform to consider in quite the same way due to surface water vector and relative water heights, the vector and power of the water can easily be found with wave circle velocity vs depth calculations. Therefore the strength of the mooring required can be readily derived.

With no expensive mooring and associated structure, and no lifting of water in air, the costs of offshore OTEC can halve or more and there can be scientific confidence in the un-likelihood of the cold-water delivery system being damaged.

The merits of the hose and turbo-pump cold-water delivery system can then be realised without the snags of moored offshore surface platforms and without the issue of having to raise finance for them.

Wave forces and the cost of anchored offshore technology

Now it is often assumed that money is no object for such projects, but rarely is this shown to be the case in the end. Not least of all for OTEC that remains undeveloped offshore or for a small company that is building a reputation. Therefore, we do assume that this is the route at least for us to scaled-up offshore power generation without there being a pre-eminent platform such as an oilrig.

Regardless, there are numerous advantages to a submerged ROV like OTEC system.

Below the surface wave forces diminish rapidly, therefore with every additional meter below the surface that a platform is situated, the anchoring costs can drop.
The risk of damage from storms can be lower than an onshore or floating site because the forces involved are far smaller; we found that at just 30 meters depth, the platform is likely to be more than capable of opposing the force of the water even when there are 10-meter-high swells above it, therefore the platform can stay quite still, and as such grant a reliable cold water delivery system that is unlikely to be damaged.

These platforms are therefore suitable for the World’s Oceans and can therefore be anticipated to be capable of providing continental quantities of electricity.

Few technical steps

The number of technical steps required to reach a proven system is few and the cost of each demonstration can be low.
The power unit and heat exchanger can be as big or as small as is desired just in the same way that the single offshore units can be.

Use of hoses means that the platform can travel.

Future embodiments of this kind of platform can be designed such that they can be efficient at moving on the water surface as well as lie safely beneath it.
Platforms can move to site and then sink beneath the waves to a suitable depth.
All this may be possible with remote control what with the state of the relevant art.

Additional waste heat or renewable heat

Additional waste heat or renewable heat can mean that a plant could produce eight times or more power than with seawater alone.
These hybrid platforms can work outside of the tropics including in Europe and the mainland USA.

A UK Patent granted concept

A UK patent has been granted for a modular OTEC platform.

UK patent rights can extend to many countries overseas where OTEC is possible.
The platform is also protected by a further US patent and UK patent.