Subsea power supply
US7224080B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 21, 2005 |
| Grant date | May 29, 2007 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 27, 2025 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02E10/30
- WIPO fieldEngines, pumps, turbines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
The present invention discloses a subsea power system for use in capturing “free” or “waste” energy (e.g., thermal, geothermal, pressurized subsurface gases or liquids, wind, wave, solar, or other free, waste, or low cost energy sources) to convert and/or store to power a subsea service or device during times when the free or waste energy supply is not as abundant, is not available, or demands require greater output than is provided at steady state. The subsea power system may include: (1) one or more energy-capturing devices—such as a turbine and/or thermoelectric generator—for harvesting free or waste energy, (2) a fuel cell, electrolyzer, and oxygen and hydrogen storage vessels for harvesting energy from the surrounding seawater, and (3) a power converter for receiving energy from the various sources and converting the energy into a useful form consumable by subsea devices.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.