Auto supplier Continental working on hydro power
Filed under: Emerging Technologies, EV/Plug-in
A great deal of electricity is already provided by the movement of water in hydroelectric power plants. Usually, large turbines are placed just after dams or under waterfalls that spin as the water rushes past at high speed. There are other ways to generate power from the movement of water, though, and automotive supplier Continental is providing its expertise towards that goal. The supplier’s ContiTech subsidiary is drawing on Continental’s vast experience with rubber for the project, which places large buoys in the water. Inside the massive tube is a hose pump that moves up and down along with the waves. At the end of the pump lies a turbine that is powered by the compressed seawater. Cables keep the buoys in their desired location and transmit the electrical power back to the shore.
Small-scale testing of the system has proven that the buoys are capable of providing a substantial amount of power while also being able to survive the violent storms of the oceans. ContiTech believes that its wave power could provide up to a third of all the energy needs of the world. Good thing, since we’re all going to need plenty of electricity to power our future electric cars, right?
[Source: Continental]
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Auto supplier Continental working on hydro power originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 07 Nov 2008 08:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski