Unlimited Wave Energy: This Buoy is the Future

There is a lot of incredible engineering packed into this, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it! Also, don't forget to check out Onshape for FREE: onshape.pro/Ziroth - You won't regret giving it a try!

Keeping the barnacles and fouling growth controlled is going to be a continuous war. Ask any sea ship company. The inertial mass as the driver for the return stroke is smart. The nice shiny slides etc. and complex gear box strike me as long term maintenance issues though. I am watching this with interest.

A few thoughts; 1. The idea is brilliant and it is a direction we all should investigate. Harvesting Sun and Moon’s energy directly is the most environmentally friendly methods. 2. Like many new/ old ideas, they will require time to mature the technology/ engineering to become an everyday thing. Train was, airplane was and cars were all discarded with their humble beginning. 3. There are many engineering challenges. Survivability is not just short term but also a long term issue. There are power plants that has been running for decades, not many sea vessels have a lifespan longer than 40 years. Composite hulls tend to last less (glass fibre tents to last 15-25 years) and they tend to leak fine glass particles to surrounding areas when they deteriorate over time, which is another cause for concern. Some people commented on foul growth, namely barnacles, the outside growth may have less impact but internal growth (they can grow inside too) and subsequent crushing may lead to particle (many of beach sands are crushed sea shells) interference with the gear mechanism and generator. As we all know, water, dust and electricity does not go well with each other. 4. Debris impact etc does not concern me as much, as we can come up with simple structures to protect the buoy. On the other hand, the buoy can be placed near hazardous shipping routes with small lights on top to guide ships. All in all, these are more manageable issues. 5. The real problem is cost. Also fluctuation of power generation. The biggest set back of current renewable energy ideas is the unpredictable power generation and weather dependency. To my best and humble knowledge, sea has its own seasons. Obviously, they will choose the best site for installation yet seasonality is part of nature we cannot control or change. It is surprising that they did not mention about it. 6. Finally, previous experience with multi billion dollar wind farm left me baffled with inefficiencies and limitations. This direction appears a lot more promising than many of the wind farm or solar farm ideas.

My grandfather made a wave generator on his boat, it was just a generator (electric motor of some sort I think?), with weights and springs. it created electricity when offshore with engines off. It worked.

The best thing about this system is that the corrosive environment is totally sealed out of both the electrical AND mechanical components, ensuring a long and reliable life. Brilliant!

Didn’t know wave energy had been investigated for so long

These can easily be placed within (long) swimming distance of a shoreline where marine traffic is a non issue. Also serves as a good "hey, beachgoers, stay inside the bouys" kinda reminder. California should be all over this.

I had this idea too about 15 years ago, so I calculated the maximum yield during a vacation on Tenerife (I have a Masters degree in mechanical engineering). The waves around Tenerife look great, but even there they're about 2m high and arrive every 10s. To catch the top of a wave efficiently, the diameter of the buoi maxes out at around 3m. This resulted in about 5kW power per buoi, so you need about 1000 buois to generate as much as 1 off-shore wind turbine. This is why I gave up on the idea...

One major problem with many wave-driven generators or anything in relatively slow-moving water is barnacles weighing everything down over time or interfering with moving parts. Anything you permanently install at sea that requires buoyancy or exposed underwater moving parts will likely need to have the barnacles periodically scraped off and an anti-stick coating re-applied.

Excellent breakdown of the C4's engineering and testing. Your ability to make these technical topics engaging is outstanding!

Each of your episodes is jam-packed with interesting information I didn't know I wanted to know! Always a pleasure to watch; I expect your channel to do VERY well! Thanks for your efforts!

Interesting design, I hope it passes the installation tests. I really like the image near the end of the video of mixed offshore wind and the CorPower buoys. Why not fill the space between giant wind towers (where reasonable) with more power generation that can share the infrastructure to get the power ashore.

The system seems well designed. However, I have some doubts about the longevity as there are a lot of parts in it that may all be susceptible to corrosion and wear. And a footer like this has to be really sturdy to withstand high wind load.

In the vast expanse where oceans roar, A revolution breaks upon the shore. CorPower's buoy, with ingenuity rare, Unlocks the power of waves with flair. Inspired by nature's timeless design, It harnesses energy, a feat divine. With bio-inspired engineering in its stride, It rides the waves, a renewable tide. Three times more energy, it deftly extracts, From ocean swells, in rhythmic acts. A beacon of hope in the quest for green, It paints a future, serene and clean. No longer bound by winds that blow, Or sunbeams that come and go, Wave energy rises, a force untamed, A beacon of progress, forever acclaimed. With costs set to plummet, as innovation soars, CorPower's buoy opens untapped doors. A new standard in renewable might, Shining brightly in sustainability's light. So let us hail this wave-powered dream, A vision of tomorrow, where possibilities gleam. For in the heart of the ocean's embrace, Lies the promise of a greener, brighter space.

It's almost perfect except I'd like the top to be flattened so seals can sleep on them 🦭

Just realized they do not have a stand alone cad design program, anything you create on their site they can steal from you. not a smart place to be working on inventions or idea's you don't want stolen.

Thanks for this video! Extremely well done and thoughtful. I would think another advantage of wave energy is it's fairly steady with a much lower level of intermittency than wind or solar. Maybe not quite good enough to call it a reliable base load, but I would think pretty close.

Wow, that is the best solution for sea wave energy I ever saw

I did not expect it to be that big, crazy stuff

Thank you Ziroth. The engineering looks like a lot of fun for this engineer.