Discovering tomorrow’s ports
In Italy, the University is working on a system to use the ports’ actual infrastructure to produce clean and renewable energy.
Imagine ports that are 100% energy independent thanks to a complete revamping of their infrastructure. Invented in 2005 by the professor of Ocean Engeneering, Paolo Boccotti, the wave energy converter system or REWEC3 hologenerator is a true innovation. This technology, developed by the Regional Mediterranean University of Calabria, was able to transform the harbours and jetties of ports worldwide into wave energy sources.
While the intermittency of renewable energy can sometimes hinder its development, waves have the advantage of being almost continuous, offering energetic stability both day and night.
Integrated into the port’s external infrastructure, REWEC3 is comprised of a tube through which the water enters and compresses the air in one turbine. When the wave retreats, the air is sucked in by reactivating the turbine. A simple system that will allow to produce between 6,000 and 9,000 MWh per kilometer each year, this is the equivalent of an average annual consumption by 1,900 households.
Discovering the future of harbors
In Messina, Energy Observer’s film crew was able to discover the prototype: “This system integrates into the port’s infrastructure“, explained Felice Arena, professor of Ocean Engineering, founder of NOEL (Natural Ocean Engineering Lab). "All that’s needed is a minor change to the passive infrastructure in order to transform it into an active infrastructure, capable of absorbing energy from the waves in order to produce electricity”.
A true revolution in the world of renewable marine energy that heralds the future of seaside ports and cities.
