Performance Enhancement of Hydrokinetic Arrays Using Reliable, Low-Cost Dynamic Components

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Program:
SHARKS
Award:
$3,342,856
Location:
Atlanta, Georgia
Status:
ACTIVE
Project Term:
09/13/2021 - 12/31/2099
Website:

Critical Need:

Significant technical and environmental barriers make current Hydrokinetic Turbines (HKT) systems prohibitively expensive. Hydrokinetic energy systems’ low technical readiness calls for a system-level approach that will include hydrodynamics, structural dynamics, control systems, power electronics, grid connections, and performance optimization, while minimizing potential negative environmental effects and maximizing system reliability. The challenging, multi-disciplinary nature of this design space means many systems haven’t moved beyond the theoretical design phase. Submarine Hydrokinetic And Riverine Kilo-megawatt Systems (SHARKS) aims to use control co-design (CCD), co-design (CD), and designing for operation and maintenance (DFO) methodologies to develop radically new HKTs for tidal and riverine applications that drastically reduce the levelized cost of energy (LCOE). This program aims to address industry-wide limitations to provide economical hydrokinetic power at micro-grid and utility scale.

Project Innovation + Advantages:

Emrgy, Inc., and its partners are implementing “dynamic tuning” of the HKT system to optimize performance across variable water flow conditions and implement new control algorithms at the system level to optimize array performance. Successful implementation may deliver LCOE of $0.07-0.10/kWh depending on deployment location. Broad deployment of the technology platform in riverine, tidal, and manmade canal resources may displace 1-2 Quads/year of traditional carbon-based generation and 150-300 gigatons of carbon production. Phase I will focus on the impacts of water depth and velocity on turbine performance. Phase II will focus on the design of dynamic tuning elements in the rotor and flume sub-systems, new materials development for substitution of stainless steel and/or traditional concrete, power system development to improve utility or microgrid operation, and module-level and cloud-based system-level controls development. Ultimately a full-scale 20-30kW twin-turbine will be fabricated and tested in a riverine environment.

Potential Impact:

Hydrokinetic energy is an abundant renewable energy source that presents unique opportunities and benefits.

Security:

Diverse renewable energy resources can boost grid resiliency and reduce infrastructure vulnerabilities.

Environment:

HKTs, used to capture energy from tides, rivers, canals, and ocean currents, optimize a clean, renewable power source that could help reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

Economy:

Hydrokinetic energy has applications beyond solely providing power to electrical grids. It is ideally suited to the emerging technologies and markets built upon ocean- and riverine-based infrastructure, including climatological observation, aquaculture, desalination, ocean floor and seawater mining, disaster recovery, powering isolated communities, and autonomous underwater vehicle support.

Contact

ARPA-E Program Director:
Dr. Mario Garcia-Sanz
Project Contact:
Tom Cuthbert
Press and General Inquiries Email:
ARPA-E-Comms@hq.doe.gov
Project Contact Email:
tom@emrgy.com

Related Projects

• Aquantis - Tidal Power Tug
• Emrgy - Performance Enhancement of Hydrokinetic Arrays Using Reliable, Low-Cost Dynamic Components
• Littoral Power Systems - Control Co-design and Co-optimization of a Transformational Cost-Efficient Hydrokinetic Energy Turbine System
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) - A Computer Tool to Control Co-Design Hydrokinetic Energy Systems
• Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC) - Optimized Hydrokinetic Systems
• SRI International - MANTA: Reliable and Safe Kite Energy System
• University of Alaska Fairbanks - Material and Cost Efficient Modular Riverine Hydrokinetic Energy System
• University of Michigan - RAFT: Reconfigurable Array of High-Efficiency Ducted Turbines for Hydrokinetic Energy Harvesting
• University of Virginia (UVA) - Bio-Inspired Renewable Energy (BIRE) for Highly-efficient Low-cost Riverine Hydrokinetics
• University of Washington (UW) - Confinement-Exploiting Cross-Flow Turbine Arrays
• Westergaard Solutions - HydroMINE: Simple, Modular, and Scalable

Release Date:
11/24/2020