Innovating in Wave Energy

WEPTOS™ Innovating in Wave Energy

2011 © Copyright WEPTOS A/S. All rights reserved

Booklet design by Kirt∙Thomsen Aps
 Content

Introduction 5

01 Wave energy 7

02 WEPTOS 17

03 Time to market 47

Behind the idea 57

© COPYRIGHT WEPTOS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

 Introduction
“This, together with the high efficiencies, makes it probable that a price
per kWh competitive to corresponding offshore wind turbines is within
reach, even without taking learning curves into account.”

”...this device looks extraordinarily promising...”

Jens Peter Kofoed, Assistant Professor, M.Sc., Ph.D. (Aalborg University, Wave Energy Research Group)

Seventy-one percent of the Earth’s surface
is covered by water — oceans, seas, lakes
and rivers. These massive bodies of water
generate energy, which today goes largely
unused. Hydro, tidal, and wave energy are
environmentally desirable sources of power.
Wave energy is a reliable power source with
a long-term potential estimated to be between
10-15% of global electricity consumption.
Since 1890, inventions designed to harness
wave energy have been developed and tested.
The 1970’s oil crisis and the present day
climate crisis have kindled a focused effort on
new invention development. Nevertheless, to
control and generate electricity from powerful
waves remains a challenge.
The WEPTOS™ concept uses a simple method
to harvest wave energy through proven
technology. The wave power generator adapts
to small waves as well as large waves, and
wave directional changes.

5
01 Wave energy
 Wave direction

Crest
Wavelength

Trough
Crest

Wave height

Wave base

8
 01 Wave energy
What is a wave
Wave power is power obtained by harnessing Crest: The uppermost point of a wave.
the energy of ocean surface waves. Waves are
generated by wind passing over the water’s Trough: The lowest point of a wave between
surface. crests.

Wind speed: The faster the wind travels (blows),
the larger a wave becomes.
Time duration: The longer the length of time the
wind hits a wave, the larger a wave becomes.
Wind distance: The farther the distance the
wind travels over open water (known as fetch),
the larger a wave becomes.
Wavelength: The horizontal distance between
one crest and the next crest (or trough to
trough).
Wave height: The vertical distance between a
wave’s trough and its crest.
Frequency: A measure of how many waves
pass in a certain amount of time.

E = energy averaged over specific time interval

HmO = significant wave height

g = gravitational constant

1
E = ρgHm2o
16 ρ = sea water density

9
5,000,000,000 kW*
*Global consumption is app. 1,500,000,000 kW

24
33 27
29 40
49 54 64 50 2
3
67 67 46
44 64 42 49 89 92 38 6 6 6
40 70 15 3
53 28 92 62
68 102 63
88 22 43
31 12
49 65 16
41 48 8
33
100 38 24 38 13 7 10
27 13 19 26
15 12 11 12
43 12 14
11 19
17 10 10
30 18 11
13
14 13
11 17 12 9
20 1
15 9
21 16 12
26 15 23 21
19 20
43 34
24 10
17
36 23 3
25
66 51
40 50
24
50
33
74 29
72
97 42
97
 01 Wave energy
Potential
Ocean energy is an abundant, dense and
predictable resource. Waves propagate over
thousands of miles of ocean and their size
and energy content can be known three to five
days in advance — which makes wave power
a more predictable source of energy than wind.
From a wider perspective, wave power will
reduce our dependency on coal power plants
which today balance the volatility of wind-
generated power.
Finally, wave installations are not only less
visible and noisy, they may positively influence
environmental conditions for sea life by
providing sheltered areas.

18
13 31
11 13
1 17 72
10
12 30
5 13 42
50
8 3 8
17 8 8 20
34 20
14 14
18 10 11
27 10
15
40 7
15 9 29
26 45
43 10
38
37
82
78 75 38 38 48
63
84 51 72 81
43

11
Photo: Courtesy of BoatNerd.com
 01 Wave energy
Challenges
Wave power holds great potential but also similar to how a weather vane adapts to the
presents great challenges. wind in 2 dimensions.

First, a wave power generator needs to be able
to absorb waves of various sizes. The rise and
fall of waves should activate the generator,
which then takes the waves’ energy and
converts it to electricity.
As the wave power generator extracts the wave
energy, it must be flexible in 3 dimensions,
In addition to these two difficult requirements,
a wave power generator must be able to
adjust to changing weather conditions and
corresponding wave types. Large and extreme
waves can cause irreparable damage to the
wave power generator if variable conditions
are not considered in the design.

Absorb a wave motion Flexible in 3 dimensions Adjust to weather

13
Photo: Copyright © Edinburgh Wave Power Group. All Rights Reserved.
 01 Wave energy
Salter’s Duck (1974)
In response to the Oil Crisis, a number of
researchers reexamined the potential of
generating energy from ocean waves, one
of whom was Professor Stephen Salter of the
University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
Salter’s 1974 invention became known as
Salter’s Duck or Nodding Duck. In small scale
controlled tests, the Duck’s curved cam-
like body stopped 90% of wave motion and
converted 90% of the motion to electricity —
resulting in an overall efficiency of 81%.
The Duck had a very high efficiency in small
tests, but it faced challenges in scaling up
and adapting to the sea. For example, when
multiple Ducks were placed in a long line, all
Ducks had to absorb one wave simultaneously.
This created an uneven power output, which
required a complicated and expensive
stabilising control system.
In the 1980s, as the price of oil decreased,
wave energy funding was drastically reduced.
15
02 WEPTOS
 Rotor

Wa
v e
Weight

Outer part

1. Inner part (moving)

Rotating axle

2.
IP Intellectual property rights. All rights reserved

Rotor
The WEPTOS™ generator is based on the
same basic principle as Salter’s Duck. The
generator contains a component - or rotor -
with an asymmetrical point-of-gravity lying at
the water’s surface that follows the up-and-
down motion of the waves. But the similarities
end here. A WEPTOS™ rotor is separated into
an inner and outer part which touch surfaces.
A rotating axle is placed inside the inner part.
When a wave hits the outer part it causes the
inner part to move, which makes the axle inside
Rotating axle
02 WEPTOS
rotate. The outer part reverts to neutral position
after the energy of the wave is absorbed.
The inner part and the rotating axle are not
affected by the reset movement of the outer
part. This mechanism is a ratchet mechanism,
typically used in hoist devices and hand tools.
Four rotors are placed beside each other with
the rotating axle going through all of them.
The rotating axle is held by arms attached to a
pipe construction behind the rotors.
4 x Rotors
19
 Rotating axle

Generator

Smooth power
WEPTOS™ is a super structure composed of
modules with rotors attached. The modules are
connected in one long line. A rotating axle goes
through all the rotors and ends in the generator.
This method of connecting rotors and generator
uses direct drive technology, a well-known
and proven technology. Using direct drive
technology reduces energy loss from wave to
90o
02 WEPTOS
power generation and the use of construction
materials.
The long line of rotors is placed at an
angle against the wave direction. The rotor
positioning, together with the use of many small
rotors as opposed to a few larger ones, creates
a smooth energy generation and output to the
grid.
15-60o
IP Intellectual property rights. All rights reserved
21
 Compression

Tension

Torsional movement Beam absorption of forces


Construction
In order to keep the line of rotors angled against
the wave direction, the line of rotors is mirrored
and copied. Two beams are placed between
the sides so they maintain their position.
This creates a triangle shape — a very stable
and strong construction.
The two beams allow each side to move up
02 WEPTOS
and down independently of each other. Flexible
joints connecting the beams to the sides enable
the whole construction to move torsionally.
This simple low-tech construction will absorb
and transform wave energy, and at the same
time be able to resist the various forces of
different wave sizes.
Triangle with flexible joints
23
Large waves Small waves
min. 30o max. 120o

Changing waves
Waves appear in various sizes and with different
frequencies. It is challenging to absorb and
transform the largest possible range of waves.
The WEPTOS™ energy generator has solved
this challenge by making the beams in the
triangle construction movable. This feature
allows the angle of the machine to vary from
30 degrees to 120 degrees. The variable angle
makes it possible to extract as much energy
02 WEPTOS
from the waves as possible, adapting to small
waves as well as large waves.
Supporting this feature, the rotor is able to
flip 360 degrees around the rotating axle.
This gives the machine durability to resist a
storm with very large waves without breaking.
These many features make WEPTOS™ an
efficient and reliable energy generator.
25
 Majority of wave directions

120o

Adaptable to all wave directions

360o

Directional flexibility
WEPTOS™ attaches to a buoy anchored to
the sea floor. Like a boat moored at sea, the
generator is able to rotate 360 degrees around
the buoy.
WEPTOS™ can adapt to all possible wave
directions by simply following the forces of the
02 WEPTOS
surrounding sea. Most waves will be within an
angle of 120 degrees.
This feature not only enables the generator to
‘catch’ all waves, it allows flexibility if a storm
hits. One can compare it to how a weather vane
adapts to all wind directions.
27
 WEPTOS™

Buoy
Generator

Power flow

Anchor line

Anchor points

28

Grid connection
WEPTOS™ is connected to a buoy with three
anchor lines and three anchor points on the
seabed. The anchor lines are placed in a
triangular shape to keep the buoy and the
whole unit in place. This setup allows flexibility
for positioning the buoy and WEPTOS™.
Power is produced in two generators and
Power cable
02 WEPTOS
travels through a cable from the two generator
housings to the buoy and further by cable
along the seabed to the transformer station. All
cables of the WEPTOS™ energy generators in
the wave farm are connected at the transformer
station.
29
 Beam

Module

Movable part

Person

Rotor

Generator

Manufacturing
The WEPTOS™ energy generator is based on
known and simple technology, which makes
manufacturing of the parts possible almost
anywhere in the world.
Each of the two long sides are made of five
modules. Every module has three ‘arms’
holding a rotating axle with four rotors.
A rotor consists of three parts: A tube including
an inverted ratchet wheel, a connecting
component with three ratchet arms touching
Ratchet arms
Ratchet wheel (inverted)
02 WEPTOS
the inverted ratchet wheel as well as the rotating
axle, and a light weight component with weight
blocks inside. The generator module consists
of the generator itself and a housing with an
access hole. The beams are designed like
tube parts with connections to a moveable
component at each end.
The relatively small module sizes and modularity
would make set up for serial production fairly
simple.
Light weight part (w. weights)
Tube
31
32

Transport
All parts will be manufactured in sizes able to fit
standard transport equipment. This simplifies
the logistics and lowers the total cost of the
WEPTOS™ energy generator.
Take for instance transport of wind turbines.
A blade - just one components of a wind
turbine - is up to 80 m long. Special trailers,
special tools and police escorts are necessary
every time one blade is transported from
Oversized wind turbine transport (one blade)
02 WEPTOS
factory to installation site. This limits the amount
of transport providers and increases the total
price.
The WEPTOS™ components will be small
compared to wind turbines making them easy
to pack and load with standard equipment and
tools. Basically all transport companies will be
able to do the job. The transport costs will be
low keeping the total price down.
33
34

Assembly
WEPTOS™ is transported in separate
components which require assembly at the
quay of the port before being hoisted into the
water.
Wind turbines are similarly transported in
separate components and assembled at
the port before shipping out for installation.
However, closer observation reveals significant
differences between WEPTOS™ and wind
turbines.
WEPTOS™ components are lighter than wind
turbine components, which enables the use of
smaller cranes or even fork lifts to assemble
02 WEPTOS
the full machine. Wind turbines need heavy
lift cranes and due to their large size, wind
turbines are typically assembled only in their
main parts: tower sections, nacelle, and rotor
with blades or even blades individually.
WEPTOS™ will only need a heavy lift crane to
lower it into the water.
In addition, wind turbines require a large
storage area due to their huge dimensions.
Each component of WEPTOS™ is small
and easy to stack together, so the entire unit
requires less storage area at the port.

n
io
Bottom section

ct
se
p
To

To p s e c t i o n 35
Pre-assembly of wind turbine tower
36

Installation
WEPTOS™ is buoyant which makes it relatively
simple to visit the installation site in a standard
tug boat, unlike wind turbines which need a
very large installation vessel.
The total fleet of installation vessels is limited
today making them both expensive and difficult
to book on short notice. Furthermore, only
about one wind turbine can be installed per
day because of the many parts required for
assembly.
02 WEPTOS
The WEPTOS™ energy generator is much
easier to install. Once the tug boat has reached
the installation site with WEPTOS™, it simply
needs to anchor the machine to a buoy and
connect the power cable. This process only
requires a few people as opposed to many
when installing a wind turbine.
37
Installation of wind turbine with jackup barge
38

Service
Service visits, maintenance and the replace-
ment of components are costly in the total life
of a wind turbine - especially offshore.
02 WEPTOS
Replacement procedures can be done safely
at the docks. A tug boat pulls the machine
back and forth to the designated area.

The nacelle containing most of the mechanical

parts is placed at an average height of 100
meters. Visits require a helicopter or a vessel.
When parts like the generator need replacement
it is challenging. A vessel with a crane must be
used to make repairs.

The helicopter and the crane-equipped vessel Helicopter

are very costly. Use of a service vessel is
not particularly expensive but man-hours
accumulate when accessing the nacelle and
other parts of the enormous construction.

Service visits to WEPTOS™ are easily made by

a service vessel attached to one of the sides.
This straightforward operation makes servicing
the machine very time-efficient.

Jackup barge

Service vessel

39
Service & maintenance of wind turbine
90-100%
WEPTOS™
70-80%
Wind turbine

Recycle
A wind turbine is a green product. It produces
carbon neutral energy from wind, one of
nature’s renewable forces. However, a wind
turbine is a very large machine requiring a
large amount of resources and materials to
produce. More than 100 tons of steel is used for
the tower construction alone and the 3 blades
are made of carbon fibre and fibreglass. The
blades can not be recycled because they are
glued together with epoxy. Depending on the
type of construction, only part of the foundation
can be recycled.
Generally only 70-80% of a wind turbine is
recyclable. Additionally, wind turbines have a
large carbon footprint due to the aggregation
02 WEPTOS
and processing of materials, manufacturing
and transportation of components, as well
as assembly, installation, maintenance and
eventual demolition of the turbine.
WEPTOS™ is designed with a strong but light
construction making it very easy to manufacture,
transport, assemble, install, maintain and
demolish. The simple construction results
in a minimal use of resources and materials
and therefore has a small carbon footprint
compared to a wind turbine.
WEPTOS™ components are also 90-100%
recyclable, making the unit environmentally
friendly.
WEPTOS™
Wind turbine
Steel Concrete Composites
41

WEPTOS™ vs. Horns Rev 1
Horns Rev 1 is a Danish offshore wind farm
comprised of 80 Vestas V80-2.0 MW wind
turbines. It is the first large scale offshore wind
farm in the world. With a capacity of 160 MW
it can supply 150,000 Danish households with
electricity.
WEPTOS™ will be able to produce the same
02 WEPTOS
amount of electricity using only half the amount
of area. This efficient use of space will cut
installation, service and transportation issues
by half, and reduce the visual impact in terms
of park area and height.
In addition, wave power can be predicted three
to five days in advance unlike wind power.

WEPTOS™ Horns Rev 1

160 MW 160 MW

3.8 km

5 km
Pelamis Wave Power Wave Dragon

Wave Star Aquamarine Power


WEPTOS™ vs. wave developers
Wave power holds great potential and therefore
there are many companies and individuals
investigating how to capture and convert wave
movement into power.
Capture — there are several methods to
capture wave movement. One method is
buoyant moored which WEPTOS™ uses.
Another is hinged contour which Pelamis Wave
Power uses. Many other projects use very large
mechanical machines. WEPTOS™ adapts
intuitively to natural forces, which makes its
WAVE WAVE POWER TAKE-OFF
Nature force Capture energy
02 WEPTOS
simple and light construction feasible.
Conversion — it is a major challenge to convert
wave power to electric power without losing a
large percentage of energy. A hydraulic system
is commonly used but in most cases it has a
high loss of power. WEPTOS™ uses a known
and proven technology to generate power. It
utilises a rotating axle which goes through all
the rotors and ends directly in the generator.
With this method, close to 100% of the wave
power is captured.
POWER GENERATION POWER GRID
Convert to power Transformation
It is a challenge to get a low loss of energy
in the conversion!
45
03 Time to market
”This, together with the high efficiencies, makes it probable
that a price per kWh competitive to corresponding offshore
wind turbines is within reach, even without taking learning
curves into account.”
Jens Peter Kofoed, Assistant Professor, M.Sc., Ph.D. (Aalborg University, Wave Energy Research Group)
 03 Time to market
1:8 Module test
The first test was done in the wave power test
centre at Aalborg University.
A section from one of the two long sides was
constructed for the test. During testing, the
section was placed sideways in the water
to simulate the way it would float and impact
waves in the ocean. The section was split into
four rotors as in the design.
The test proceeded well and the results were
very good. The output showed a high efficiency
in capturing and converting the wave power
with minimal energy loss. This initial test
provided solid evidence favouring projected
calculations.
49
50
 03 Time to market
1:8 Rotor test
For the second test a rotor element of similar This test was done in the test centre at Aalborg
detail and material makeup to those chosen University as well.
for the serial production was constructed. The
ratchet mechanism inside was among the The quantitative results from this test were
detail improvements. better than the first test, adding more weight to
the promising initial results.

51
52
 03 Time to market
1:8 Full system test
A test of the full system will be done in IH
Cantabria, Europe’s newest and largest indoor
wave test centre, in September 2011. This
test centre in Northern Spain is recognised
as a high-quality scientific and technological
environment.
All parts of the test model are being constructed
in Denmark and will be transported to Spain
for assembly. The model will include all
components of the final operating product, but
scaled 1:8 for the test.
Testing the WEPTOS™ machine in this high-
quality environment will provide the final results
of efficiency before going full scale 1:1.
53
Contracts and project start-up Required permissions from
Model design Contracts with builder etc
Engineering Design
Model manufacturing Engineering
Model testing Manufacturing
Critical evaluation of tests Installation of full-
Patent Patent
Decision regarding full-scale testing First power to

Phase 1 Phase 2
01
d2
En
 03 Time to market
authorities 1-year test
c. Critical evaluation of tests
Patent
Company value calculation
Engineering
-scale concept Commercialisation decision

grid delivery

3
2

Phase 3
01

01
d2

d2
En

En

55
Behind the idea
58
 Behind the idea
About us
WEPTOS A/S — The company’s roots trace
back to 1991, and include substantial
experience in international collaborations for
product concept development and intellectual
property rights. The product portfolio consists
of a variety of exclusive household products.
Since 2007, wave energy research has been
the company’s sole focus.
Tommy Larsen is the company CEO and
inventor of the WEPTOS™ energy generator.
He has an engineering background and long
maritime experience from years of sailing
and a childhood in a sailing family. This
‘ocean experience’ together with his business
experience working professionally with product
development provided a solid foundation to
develop the WEPTOS™ energy generator.
The WEPTOS™ project is already protected
with two patents. This was made possible
through a collaboration with Zacco Denmark,
Europe’s largest intellectual property consul-
tancy.
Early concepts have been tested at Aalborg
University’s wave lab in collaboration with the
Aalborg University Wave Energy Research
Group. The components for the 1:8 prototype
are presently being built with funding by
Energinet.dk.
59
WEPTOS A/S
Fjordager 3
7130 Juelsminde
+45 70260140
+45 20333666

weptos@weptos.com
http://weptos.com