Columbia Power is proud to announce receipt of our first European patent. The Patent No. EP299023 titled “Direct Drive Wave Energy Conversion” is CPower’s 14th patent worldwide. It covers the StingRAY direct-drive wave-power system intended for utility-scale applications. The StingRAY uses two floats to capture wave energy and two rotary permanent-magnet generators to convert the energy into electricity. Accordingly, each float couples directly with its own generator. This enables a single energy-capture/conversion cycle and provides both high-efficiency and reliability.
A land-based test of the novel generator and air-gap control system is currently underway at the National Wind Technology Center in Colorado, USA. The rotary generator has a diameter of over 6m with a 4mm rotor-stator air-gap. The US Navy’s Wave Energy Test Site will be used during the large-scale StingRAY deployment in Hawaii, USA.