Batteries Buried at the Bottom of the Ocean May Give Wind Energy a Vital Boost

Today companies are increasingly focused on renewables as a source of energy because as do not contribute to the pollution of our environment. However, storing that energy when the sun isn't shining or the wind is not blowing has long been a problem. Up to now, no truly viable solution has come up despite researchers working hard to find the right technology.

Now, offshore energy storage company Ocean Grazer has introduced a new device that may just solve the problem of intermittency.

"At CES 2022, Ocean Grazer launches their CES Innovation Award-winning solution Ocean Battery. With this system the Dutch Water Engineers will fundamentally change the sustainable energy landscape. No one has resolved the global energy storage problem in a scalable, reliable, and affordable way — up till now! Ocean Grazer offers a brilliant yet simple solution, based on existing technology, enhancing marine life along the way," wrote the firm in a press release.

The company's Ocean Battery is engineered to be implemented for offshore wind farms, transforming the energy sources into dispatchable power generators. The system is almost maintenance-free and is not harmful to marine life. In fact, Ocean Grazer states that it enhances oceanic life although it does not specify how.

How does the Ocean Battery work?

It is built on the seafloor near offshore renewable energy generators and functions on a principle similar to that of a hydro dam. The technology involves burying a concrete reservoir that holds up to 20 million liters (5.3 million gallons) of fresh water in the seabed and using a set of pumps and turbines to pump water from the reservoir into a bladder.

When energy is required, the bladder is set free to squeeze its water back down to the reservoir. This creates a motion that sees turbines spin generating electricity that’s fed out into the grid. The system is ingenious in its simplicity and if successful may finally provide the long-awaited solution to wind power's dependability issues producing clean energy whether the wind is blowing or not.