You know those news stories that pop up every now and then, the ones that talk about “clean” energy sources with “enormous potential”? Here comes another one. This time it talks about underwater turbines, which exploit ocean currents to generate electricity. The idea is fascinating, almost poetic: exploiting the constant and imposing force of the ocean, the same force that has shaped the coasts for millennia and that (perhaps) once made ships sail without having to burn anything. A Dutch startup, Equinox Ocean Turbines, has received new funding to carry out such a project.
They say it could become the “third major clean energy source,” after solar and wind. A bold claim, I know. Especially in a world where energy promises often collide with the hard, boring reality of cost, maintenance, and “we don’t want that stuff in our backyard” (or, in this case, our patch of sea).
A football field rotor (more or less)
What exactly are we talking about? Don't imagine upside-down wind turbines. This system, apparently, is a sort of semi-floating platform with a concrete rotor measuring 50 meters in diameter. Fifty meters. To give you an idea, that's about the width of a regulation soccer field. On the sides of this giant rotor, there would be smaller turbines. The whole thing, according to what they say, designed to be completely underwater.
This “submerged” aspect is their main selling point, at least as far as impact is concerned. Zero visual impact, they say. Zero environmental impact, or at least “minimal”. Of course, until it is discovered that perhaps the noise or vibrations are disturbing something down there. But oh well, for now let’s take the promoters’ enthusiasm for granted. It will generate, in their rosiest predictions, up to three megawatts (MW) of electricity, even with not very strong currents. Three MW is not bad, of course, but to really do something serious with it, a lot of it will be needed, I imagine.
Underwater turbines: another injection of confidence and money
So how do you finance an underwater dream like this? Well, Equinox Ocean Turbines just got new funding for these underwater turbines. They didn't say how much exactly, which is always a little funny. As if money were a minor detail. They thank various partners, including the program Valorization of the Samenwerkingsverband Noord-Nederland (SNN) and the European Regional Development Fund (EFRO). Public money, in short, at least in part. A classic. The University of Groningen and Damen Maritime Ventures are also putting in their work, which should help them build and put this blessed turbine into the sea.
Last year, for example, they had already collected 2,4 million euros (which at the exchange rate at the time was approximately 2,7 million US dollars, just to give you an idea) from investors such as EIT InnoEnergy and a couple of private individuals. Everyone is betting on the (still unexpressed) strength of ocean currents. An idea that has been around for years, to be honest. Currents are constant, predictable. Not like the sun that goes to sleep or the wind that sometimes takes a break. This makes them, in theory, perfect for providing that “base” electricity that is always needed, day and night.
The Chief's Hopes and the Reality to Come
“This support accelerates our mission to harness clean energy from ocean currents,” someone from the company said. And then, adding that touch of rhetoric that never hurts: “Now is the right time to combine the efforts and expertise of many parties to make ocean current energy a new reality in the energy mix.” Here, do you smell the press release? A new reality. Let's hope so. The goal is to have the first commercial turbine ready by 2027. So, a good couple of years to go.
Mr Peter de Haas, CEO of Equinox Ocean Turbines, seems pretty confident. “This is a significant step toward achieving our ambition of making marine energy a commercial reality,” he said. And one believes it, or at least tries to believe it. Although my old, slightly jaded, journalist soul has seen many “significant steps” that, let’s face it, didn’t lead to much or took decades to become (maybe) something concrete.
Underwater turbines: a matter of trust (and sea)
In the end, it's always about trust, right? Trust in the technology, trust in investors, trust that the ocean won't be too offended by these machines we put in it. *Georgina Jedikovska*, who wrote the original article (people who do our job, basically), reported this news with a mix of hope and, I imagine, the same amount of skepticism that I have. Because seeing the money coming in is a good sign, sure. But the real challenge is not finding the initial funding. The real challenge is going from prototype, from "potential," to mass production. Putting hundreds, thousands of these things out into the seas of the world.
It requires not only brilliant engineers and patient investors, but also permits, impact studies that don't blow everything up, assembly lines, special ships for installation, maintenance in a hostile environment like the underwater one. And then, of course, it also has to cost the right amount, otherwise who will buy the energy? In short, there is still a lot of water under the bridge (or, in this case, above the turbine) before the energy of ocean currents truly becomes the "third source". But the idea remains there, seductive. The hidden and constant force of the sea, ready (perhaps) to give us a hand. And we, with a sigh mixed with hope and skepticism, look at the horizon, wondering if this time it's the right one.
