Pontoon Power is currently in an R&D phase. The company has so far performed several engineering analyzes and basin tests. The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), commissioned by Statkraft, has performed a comprehensive theoretical study of our concept along with several other wave energy converter technologies.
We have performed two basin tests at MARINTEK, Norway. The first test was with one pontoon in scale 1:10. The main purpose of this test was to gain information about how efficient our passive retraction system will work in practice. The results were promising and we performed a second test with 32 pontoons in scale 1:50. The main purpose of the second test was to learn how the complete concept will behave in open ocean; especially during the submerged «hurricane protection mode». For more information please see the videos form the tests.
The second basin test also gave promising results and we are now ready for a third test with 12 pontoons in scale 1:10. This test will be a verification test where we will test all functions, including energy output by a large number of wave sizes, current, and wind. In addition, we plan to perform a detailed engineering and cost study in order to get more accurate figures on weights, costs, reliability, profitability, and lifetime. We believe that proper engineering based on proven offshore design codes is the key to success when it comes to survival and reliability in rough sea conditions. After these activities we will be ready for planning sea trials in full scale, but with a limited number of pontoons.
Unfortunately, we did not succeed in getting our expected part-funding from any of the Norwegian public funds to carry out our planned verification test and study. We are therefore looking at other options in order to fund these studies.
Picture from Second Basin Test, Scale 1:50