Wavebob

Wavebob

Company type	Privately Held
Industry	Wave Energy
Founded	1999
Headquarters	Ireland, USA
Key people	Andrew Parish -CEO Göran Dandanell -Chairman William Dick -Inventor Dr. Jochem Weber -Research Manager Dr. Ronan Costello -Hydraulics Team Leader
Products	[WECs] Wave Energy Conversion Buoys

Wavebob was a wave energy converter which was in development between 1999 and 2013 when the company was closed owing to funding difficulties.[1]

The device was an axisymetric self-reacting heaving buoy point absorber. It consisted of two oscillating structures, a floating collar or torus which followed the motion of the waves, and a central section containing the power-take-off at the top and a buoyancy-controlling tank below the water.

Wavebob Ltd. commenced the first of a number of sea trials in Galway Bay in Ireland during which it was tested as a 1/4 scale device for short periods at the SEAI 1/4 Scale Wave Power Testing facility[2] which is located in the inner bay inside the natural Aran Islands breakwater and where devices under test are exposed to around 1/3 of the expected energy of the 'Full Atlantic Ocean'.[3][4]

Technology

Wavebob used the lift and fall of ocean waves to drive generators [5]

The Wavebob consisted of two oscillating structures. These structures must be able to absorb in a variety of conditions and be robust to survive in the harsh marine environment. The structures are controlled by a damping system that can respond to predicted wave height, wave power and frequency. The tank structure (a semi-submerged body) uses captured sea water mass as the majority of its inertial mass. This significantly reduces the cost associated with structural materials.

The technology was developed over a decade, including tank testing at 1:100, 1:75, and 1:25 scale, benign sea conditions at 1:17 scale, and finally two sets of advanced development model (ADM) tests at 1:4 scale in Galway Bay. The first (ADM1) in 2006 produced power at sea for the first time, and the second (ADM2) in 2007 confirming the capability in a range of sea conditions.[6]

Wavebob developed its business through an Open Innovation Model and was partnered with leading energy companies such as Chevron and Vattenfall. It briefly established a joint venture company with Vattenfall called Tonn Energy to develop commercial wave farms off the west coast of Ireland; tonn is the Irish language word for wave.[7]

Company milestones

1999: Original patents filed

2007: CEO appointed; head office in Maynooth established

2013: Company Closed Down.

See also

• Wave power
• Marine Institute Ireland
• OE buoy

References

1. Downing, Louise (4 April 2013). "Wavebob Shuts Down After Failing to Raise Funds, Find Partner". Bloomberg. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
2. Description of Galway Bay Wave Test Facility from SEI Website
3. Ireland Wave Atlas Online GIS . SEI Quarter Scale Test Site Located At -9.269W 53.233N
4. Ireland Wave Atlas Online GIS . SEI Full Scale Model Test Site To Be Constructed and Located At -9.989W 54.164N Coming Onstream 2011 or 2012
5. Mouwen, Franc. "Presentation to Engineers Ireland 2008" (PDF). Engineers Ireland. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-14. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
6. Weber, Jochem; Mouwen, Franc; Parish, Andrew; Robertson, Derek (2009). Wavebob–research & development network and tools in the context of systems engineering. Eighth European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference, Uppsala, Sweden – via ResearchGate.
7. "Wavebob is Ready to Make Wave Energy". www.greentechmedia.com. Retrieved 2024-07-11.

Further reading

• Falnes, Johannes (2002). Ocean Waves and Oscillating Systems. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-01749-1., 288 pp.
• McCormick, Michael (2007). Ocean Wave Energy Conversion. Dover. ISBN 0-486-46245-5., 256 pp.