IIT Madras Installs a Wave Energy Generator Off the Coast of Tamil Nadu

IIT Madras researchers asserted to have created an energy converter that can produce electricity from ocean waves. The second week of November saw the successful conclusion of the trials. The test was carried out in collaboration with the Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology (MNNIT) Allahabad and the Andhra Pradesh-based firm Virya Paramita Energy (VPE). A deal between IIT Madras and VPE Calls for The Technology to be commercialised.

The energy conversion device, known as Sindhuja-I, which means “produced from the ocean,” was placed in the water at a depth of 20 meters about six kilometers off the coast of Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu. The system, which seeks to generate 1 MW of power from ocean waves in the following three years, was deployed with assistance from Waterfront Engineering and Infrastructure.

The system’s goal is to deliver dependable communication and electricity in isolated offshore sites. Lead author Abdus Samad, from the Department of Ocean Engineering at IIT Madras, highlighted the significance of this research by stating that India has a coastline that is 7,500 km long and capable of producing 54 GW of power, which may meet a significant portion of the nation’s energy needs.

Tidal, wave and ocean thermal energy are all stored in seawater. India has the potential to harness 40 GW of wave energy, for example. He continued, “The goal is to make India sustainable by utilising marine energy and producing net zero carbon emissions to lessen the effects of climate change.”

The GKC Institute of Engineering and Technology and MCKV Institute of Engineering, both in West Bengal, created the device’s electrical storage technology. According to the study, a single gadget at various points along the Indian coastline may provide a significant amount of clean energy. The team is currently thinking of mounting many devices in an array configuration to harvest the most wave power possible from the site.

Three major components make up the generator: an electrical module, a spar, and a buoy that floats. As the wave arrives, the buoy rises and falls. In the current design, a long rod or the spar can pass through the center of a system that resembles a balloon and is referred to as a “buoy.”

A mooring chain secures the system while the spar floats. The buoy goes up and down to create relative motion between them, but the spar can be fixed to the seafloor and is unaffected by passing waves. The electric generator produces electricity by rotation as a result of the relative motion.

The project’s success, according to the researchers, might help India achieve its objectives, including deep-water missions, as well as the Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations Ocean Decade. It can assist the nation to accomplish its climate targets of producing 500 GW of power from renewable sources by 2030, boost clean energy programs, and create a blue economy.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Australian Government financed the initiative jointly through the Australian Alumni Grant Program 2022 and the Innovative Research Project Program of IIT Madras. As part of the Department of Science and Technology Nidhi-Prayas program, it was also partially supported by TBI-KIET. The lab is currently investigating additional uses for this technology, including generating power for smaller ocean-going devices, navigational buoys, and data buoys.