Photo report: the Ocean Grazer
Together with company Ocean Grazer BV, the University of Groningen is working to develop the ‘Ocean Grazer’: a system to harvest and store energy from the sea. The Ocean Grazer harvests energy from waves on the water surface via an ingenious system of adaptive buoys, which together form a so called floater blanket. The buoys in turn drive pistons that provide a flexible bladder on the sea bed with potential energy. Internally, the system pumps water from a low to a high pressure. The pressure difference ensures energy storage in the pumped fluid. The Ocean Grazer also houses wind turbines and thus harvests multiple energy sources simultaneously, with on-site storage. Marijn van Rooij, project leader of the Ocean Grazer research project: ‘In principle, we can generate enough renewable energy globally, but storing energy to use it when demand is there is still a puzzle. With the Ocean Grazer, we can do that.’
![De energie in golven wordt geoogst met drijvers. Drijvers gekoppeld aan adaptieve pompsystemen kunnen inspelen op de variatie in energiecontent tussen de golven. Hier staat een pompsysteem met zuigers van drie verschillende groottes om dit te testen.The energy in waves is harvested with buoys. Buoys connected to adaptive pump systems can respond to the energy content variation between waves. Here is a pump system with three different sized pistons, used for testing.](/news/2018/nieuwsberichten/1022-1-10102018oceangrazer09.jpg)
![In de (nu even lege) golfbak staat een model van het opslagsysteem dat op de zeebodem komt en water in en uit een balg pompt. Het team kan hier bijvoorbeeld testen hoe de vervorming van de balg zal zijn tijdens de werking.In the (currently empty) wave basin, you can see a model of the storage system that rests on the sea bed and that pumps water in and out of a bladder. The team can test, for example, how the flexible bladder will deform during operation.](/news/2018/nieuwsberichten/1022-2-10102018oceangrazer11.jpg)
![Boven de golfbak hangen kleine pompsystemen die worden aangedreven door de boeien. Van elke boei kan het team hiermee meten hoeveel energie hij uit de golf heeft gehaald.Above the wave basin are small pump systems that are powered by the buoys. With these, the team can measure how much energy each buoy harnesses from a wave.](/news/2018/nieuwsberichten/1022-3-10102018oceangrazer13.jpg)
![Een systeem zelf ontwerpen betekent ook dat je veel onderdelen zelf bedenkt - en maakt …..Designing a system yourself means that you have to invent most of the components yourself – and make them...](/news/2018/nieuwsberichten/1022-4-20203028oceangrazer12.jpg)
![... een 3D-printer is dan ideaal. Benodigde onderdelen zijn vaak niet standaard verkrijgbaar. Bovendien kun je met zelf geprinte onderdelen makkelijker iets uitproberen en aanpassen....so, a 3D printer is ideal. Required components are often not available as standard. Moreover, with self-printed components you can easily try out and adjust something.](/news/2018/nieuwsberichten/1022-5-og10102018oceangrazer06.jpg)
![Meer dan zestig studenten hebben de afgelopen vier jaar al meegewerkt aan de Ocean Grazer. Ze helpen met onderzoek, met het ontwikkelen van modellen en met de validatie van simulatieresultaten bij experimenten. In the last four years, more than 60 students have worked on the Ocean Grazer. They have helped with research, with developing models, and with the validation of simulation outcomes with experiments.](/news/2018/nieuwsberichten/1022-6-og10102018oceangrazer01.jpg)
!['Artist impression' van de Ocean GrazerArtist impression Ocean Grazer](/news/2018/nieuwsberichten/1022-pic1_ogfarm_clouds_v3-kl.jpg)
In the last four years, around 60 students have contributed to the research and development of the system. ‘What is great is that this isn’t only fundamental research, but that we can work out and test everything directly in practice: engineering in its optimal form!’ For the time being, the team is still working on the system. Van Rooij expects that a final version, with a base of 60 metres in diameter and a water depth of 50 to 100 metres, will be able to turn waves and wind into energy in around 10 years’ time. The storage system also works separately, and can therefore be put on the market earlier.
This photo report (photos by Elmer Spaargaren) gives you a look behind the scenes of the work at the Ocean Grazer project. You can find more information at the website of the Ocean Grazer.
Last modified: | 12 March 2020 9.23 p.m. |
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