Kairyu, a 330-ton underwater power generator, will be deployed for testing

The 330-tonne Kairyu Subsea Power Generator will be sent to sea for a very important full-scale test.

Japan sees the ocean as a great opportunity to produce continuous, reliable and clean energy. After many years of development and field testing , Kairyu, an underwater power generator, will enter the commercial phase in the next ten years.

Kairyu underwater power generator to be launched into the sea

The Kairyu is a demonstration device designed and intended to recover energy using underwater currents, as opposed to tidal current generators. Undercurrents have a slower flow, but cover much larger areas. This means that more generators can be deployed, making the concept fully scalable.

At a depth of 50 meters, the generator is also in a much safer area than tidal current generators. Since Japan is hit by a large number of typhoons every year, they can create huge waves that can damage such generators.

Depth and orientation are provided by a controlled buoyancy system and turbine blades. The assembly makes it very easy and with very little energy to hold the generator in place or lift it to the surface for maintenance work.

Diagram of the IHI stabilization system

330 tons for a very important test

Every underwater project has its challenges, because the ocean is a very difficult environment for any equipment. At the same time, testing has shown that this project and strategy can become one of the most efficient, safe and scalable ways to produce clean energy.

This system is much more efficient than wind power and will also be much less intermittent than solar power. In any case, Japan is not an ideal region for solar energy, and tidal current generators are very difficult to deploy because the navy is actively used around Japan. All these factors prompted Japanese researchers to think about more effective strategies.

If you are interested in this topic, you can find all the details in the full PDF provided by IHI.

Detailed diagram of the IHI generator