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Japan wants to send ships to the high seas to capture electricity, creating walking offshore wind farms in the middle of the ocean

Written by Valdemar Medeiros
Published 11/12/2021 às 13:25
Japan - electric power - wind power - offshore wind farm - ocean - ships
ARK-100 project should be able to supply thousands of homes with a single trip to the sea (Image: Disclosure / PowerX)

Japan is evolving with the generation of electricity, and is already developing a walking offshore wind farm in the middle of the ocean with the capacity to supply 22 homes

Japan-based company Power X, a specialist in electrical energy, plans to send ships into the ocean to capture electricity by creating a traveling offshore wind farm. For this, a special ship is being created and should be tested soon. Offshore wind farms are already a reality in many parts of the world. Its wind blades are installed in the ocean, however they are static and with some limitations, such as the depth of the region for installing the equipment. With the company's ships from Japan, this could be solved and the strong winds from other places could be taken advantage of.

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The company's offshore wind farm can supply up to 22 homes

Get to know the Japanese company's Power X project – Reproduction/Youtube

To bring electricity to homes, the wind farm offshore common has very efficient submarine cables, however they still operate under the limitation of the installation of the blades, which need a depth of 60 meters so that they can stand firm.

In the case of the Japanese company's ship that will be launched in the ocean, the energy will be stored in special cells that can supply electricity to up to 22 Japanese homes per day with just a single trip. To develop the wind farm offshore with the ship, the Japanese company signed a partnership with Imabari Shipbuilding, a famous Japanese company dedicated to shipbuilding.

The project was named Power ARK 100 and will be a trimaran ship, that is, it has three 100-meter-long hulls that are powered by an electric motor that gives the vehicle a range of 300 km, in addition to a backup of biodiesel.

Electric power company invests US$ 8,86 million

Investment in the ARK-100 is almost US$ 10 million for the first prototype (Image: Disclosure / PowerX)

According to the president of Imabari, Yukito Higaki, the realization of a clean carbon society is an essential issue that the shipbuilding and maritime industries must face. You can see that the alliance is an excellent chance for the company to invest and partner with Power X, who are taking on the challenge with a unique approach to today's shipbuilding and marine industries.

At first, the electric power company's partnership with Imabari foresees an investment of US$ 8,86 million for the construction of the first prototype of the offshore wind farm that will be launched in the ocean.

If the business advances, it will be possible to have even smaller ships with improved electrical energy storage capacity. The debut model should contain 1 GHw, however the intention is to reach vessels with 5GHw. According to the Japanese company, the first prototype should arrive in 2025.

Other projects offshore

The German SINN Power has created a project that can generate electricity from up to three different renewable sources in the ocean. The company intends to generate electricity using solar energy, wave power and wind energy, and may even generate hydrogen.

The platform is capable of withstanding winds of up to 27 m/s and waves of up to 12 meters in height, according to SINN, however it is possible that the platform can withstand winds of up to 60 m/s.

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Valdemar Medeiros

Journalist in training, specialist in creating content with a focus on SEO actions. Writes about the Automotive Industry, Renewable Energy and Science and Technology

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