Eco Factor: Self-sustainable UUV uses the energy of the ocean for practically limitless energy supply.
SOLO-TREC, or Sounding Oceanographic Lagrangian Observer – Thermal RECharging, is powered by Navy-funded thermal engine that is accomplishing a feat that no other underwater vessel has ever done. The engine uses the energy of the ocean to derive more energy than it consumes and offers a way to generate practically limitless energy.
The SOLO-TREC is outfitted with a series of tubes filled with phase-change materials. As the float gets into warmer temperatures, the materials expand and the reverse happens when the float reaches colder regions. This expansion and contraction is used to drive a hydraulic motor, which generates electricity to recharge batteries powering a pump. The pump can change the float’s buoyancy, allowing it to move up and down the water column.
In theory, the engine offers an unlimited supply of energy, which can only stop if the ocean runs out of energy, which is highly unlikely to happen. The SOLO-TREC has already made 430 dives from the surface to about 500 meters and each time it produces about 1.6Wh of electricity, which is enough to operate the instruments onboard.
Via: PopSci
