TECH

The 'Ocean Battery' capable of storing renewable energy at the bottom of the sea

One of the main challenges facing the use of renewable energies is that they must be supported by reserve systems that maintain their activity at times when the sun does not shine or the wind does not blow.

The Dutch company Ocean Grazer has developed an "ocean battery" capable of storing renewable energy at the bottom of the sea. The device was presented at the Consumer Electronics Fair in Las Vegas, USA. The innovation, called Battery Ocean, is designed to be installed on the seafloor near renewable energy generators offshore, such as wind turbines, floating solar farms and systems that use wave power.

The operation, similar to that of a hydroelectric dam, is based on air chambers located at the bottom of the sea, which are filled with water by the wind farm. When it needs power, ocean pressure pushes water through the mechanism, which includes turbines, and the result is electricity. One of the main challenges facing the use of renewable energies is that they must be supported by reserve systems that maintain their activity at times when the sun does not shine or the wind does not blow.

According to the director of the Dutch company, Frits Bliek, quoted by the AFP news agency, the device has an efficiency of approximately 80% in energy storage. In addition, he stated that the company's aim is to place a battery on the high seas in 2025 and one on land in the north of the Netherlands in 2023.

mundophone