hot copper doesn't let me swear but......, page-5

The Wello Penguin is really an ingenious device that has been demonstrated to work for some years, delivering in excess of 0.5 MW at EMEC. It is a remarkable concept device in the carefully designed asymmetric hull shape that exaggerates (amplifies) the pitch so that the vertical axis eccentric rotor (a sector) inside begins to gyrate in sync with the waves. As soon as you have a continuous rotation, generating power is a cinch.

It’s not clear whether or how the system can be tuned for resonance which is rather important for efficiency. It still also has to be tethered and this will be an impedance to free pitching. The greatest limitation seems to be that all the energy is initially contained in the physical spinning high mass rotor that is held in bearings. The resulting irregular lateral and high load and consequent wear on these bearings must enormous. While I’ve been impressed with this device for years I have strong reservations about massive moving part physical systems being an effective long term solution.

Yet, the European Commission saw fit to provide a EUR 17M grant in 2014. Does this indicate merit, or desperation for a new form of energy for Europe, or silly season transfer of funds initially designated for another (now defunct) wave energy company? The parent company, Fortum, is a very reputable organisation with general sales revenue of about EUR 5B.

The present agreement with Korea relates to, “…. developing a more profitable wave energy converter”. It almost reads as a call for practical ideas in how to mass build these devices cheaply.

If I was to be concerned for competition it would be more along the lines of the linear power generator being developed by Seabased AB.

Most of the sentiment usually expressed here on HC is related to the apparent lack of speed of achievement with the Ceto 6 project. Shareholders need to understand that this is not a trivial project. Recognise that CWE is very aware of its excellent achievement to date with the Ceto 5, that the Ceto 6 WEC involves higher power and therefore higher forces, as well as a beneficial change in operation methodology, and the necessity to avoid the possibility of device failure.

CWE is in an excellent market position thus far.

Juke