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Vigor Wave Energy AB: Energy Conversion
Vigor Wave Energy engineers use Autodesk Inventor to cost-effectively convert the ocean's wave energy into electricity.
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"Autodesk Inventor enables us to do virtual installations and try to minimize risks. One example is that we were able to solidly weld the afterwards nonlinear wave breaker, long before the wave trials even began."
—Kristian Persson, Head of CAD, Vigor Wave Energy
Project Summary
Vigor Wave Energy AB was established in 2009 to further develop and commercialize a whole new idea within wave energy extraction: The Vigor Wave Energy Converter.
Vigor Wave Energy AB’s solution is the only one in the world to utilise nearly all the potential in the ocean’s powerful waves. The technology builds on inventor Daniel Ehrnberg’s patented dissertation project. A hose several hundred metres in length uses wave power to pump water and air to a turbine and electric generator.
A very simple solution, yet full of calculation technology challenges due to the water and air flow involved. The principle has been patented, and practical scale tests in the company’s own wave tank are showing positive results. CFD simulations and calculations indicate that the concept will be capable of extracting high energy levels in a cost-effective way.
The development work is being conducted on the company’s own premises in Gothenburg, in close cooperation with, among others, various colleges, institutions, and companies with marine expertise and experience. The work is characterized by enthusiasm, entrepreneurship, commercial driving force, and an active ownership.
The business idea is to develop and sell 1-100 MW wave power stations to leading power companies. The goal that has been set is to develop, manufacture, install, and certify, with help from the right combination of industrial and financial partners, a 1 MW wave power station within 3-5 years, and a full-scale 100 MW station within 5-7 years. Positioning is underway in the European wave power and energy sector.
The Challenge
Precision and accuracy are central to the efficiency of the system, so testing is crucial to product development. This can be expensive, time consuming, and may call for minor adjustments in difficult circumstances. For Vigor Wave Energy, whose products will be put to use out at sea, the testing process can be arduous. |
The Solution
To avoid having to go out to sea every time an important test needs to be done, a testing facility has been designed, installed, and commissioned underground the Chalmers in Gothenburg premises. A custom-made 50-metre-long watertank incorporating several tailor-made industrial machines and equipment, including a wave generator, houses a scaled-down copy of the structure.
Persson has extensive experience using CAD software in various projects around the world. Nonetheless, he is continually surprised at how Autodesk® Inventor® 3D CAD software can reduce lead times—from idea to design and implementation.
“We recently discovered the need for several large steel beams for the structure. On Monday morning I created a draft showing what it should look like, and two days later, on Wednesday morning, people were standing outside with everything ready. I have drawn many retrofits, but it has never gone so quickly. And that also includes time for the tender, creating the drawings, buying the materials, and the manufacturing itself,” says Kristian Persson, head of CAD at Vigor Wave Energy.
Design and manufacturing issues can be resolved basically in real time during the design and engineering process, with contractors far away, due to a high degree of exchangeable Autodesk parts and files.
The Result
A fully functional wave tank capable of performing large wave testing through different tests and experiments on prototypes, components, and scaled down systems can be tested week after week. "Thanks to outstanding 3D assembly view in Autodesk Inventor, Persson was able to design effective wave breakers for the wave tank. The effect can clearly be seen with little reflection coefficient." “[It is] easy to cooperate with other suppliers since Autodesk’s products are de facto standard [creating] more efficient and simplified work processes.” “Autodesk Inventor enables us to access the FEM calculation function at the touch of a button, and all within an interface that is easy to use,” says Persson. With a simple solution utilising the renewable resource of ocean waves, Vigor technology has the potential to become a fantastic means of providing the world with clean energy. Thanks to Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) Inventor design software, Kristian Persson and Roman Madorski feel confident that they can deliver results. Vigor Wave participates in the Autodesk Clean Tech Partner Program. The purpose of this initiative is to provide qualifying startups in the clean-tech industry with Digital Prototyping software worth up to 120,000 Euros for a nominal price of just 50 Euros. This enables them to design, visualize, and simulate their ideas in digital form before finally committing to a physical prototype. |
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 | Vigor Wave Energy Customer Story (pdf - 239Kb) |
