1kW Inline Gator - Aquaculture application

Project Description

Exceedence Ltd (EXC) and Technology from Ideas (TFI) propose to develop a novel renewable energy solution for the aquaculture industry (Gator). Communications with the fish farm industry over the past year, identified that every fish cage requires electricity, the majority of which is currently delivered by diesel generators. Fish farmers are actively searching for renewable energy sources to replace the diesel consumption as this brings concerns of emissions and increases risk of oil spills when transporting diesel to the feed barges. Wind and solar generation on the cages is unable to meet the power needs and is fundamentally challenging when mounted so close to the ocean itself, requiring high maintenance. Wave energy, especially when coupled with the existing mooring system is seen as a very appealing solution. The Inline Gator at its core is a novel, innovative, polymer spring that when configured into a pump with check valves converts the motion of the fish cage into pressurised water. This pressurised water is pumped through a conventional hydro-electric turbine producing electricity. Essentially the Inline Gator will harness the natural power of the waves by converting the motion of the fish cage into electricity thereby mitigating the need for fossil fuels. This 18-month project will develop a 1kW Gator spring with response curves suitable to the sea states in which fish farms are located. The spring and Inline Gator will be tested both in a lab environment and in a real sea environment to demonstrate and validate its fit for purpose. It is expected that by the end of this project the Inline Gator will be ready for pre-commercialisation. As part of the route to market it will also be important to identify further Inline Gator opportunities and to validate the cost benefit of the Inline Gator for the aquaculture industry