Renewable Energy for Sustainable Ocean Sensors and Platforms

摘要

In the future, networks of unmanned and unattended sensor systems will replace many of these manned assets and will become pervasive and highly connected in many maritime areas. Unmanned mobile surveillance systems will be able to operate with a high degree of autonomy and weather tolerance with minimum cost and manpower risk. Low cost, highly sustainable underwater power sources, for both stationary sensors systems and mobile surveillance platforms, are required for this vision. This paper presents a description of interim results of investigations into technologies and systems for generating renewable energy from coastal and open ocean areas. A range of technologies have been investigated from low power systems deriving energy from the microbial fuel cells and the direct bacterial conversion of methane gas to methanol liquid to larger power systems deriving energy from ocean waves, methane hydrate deposits, and hydrothermal vents.