A buoyant hydrodynamic pump is disclosed that can float on a surface of a body of water over which waves tend to pass. The pump incorporates an open-bottomed tube with a constriction. The tube partially encloses a substantial volume of water with which the tube's constriction interacts, creating and/or amplifying oscillations therein in response to wave action. Wave-driven oscillations result in periodic upward ejections of portions of the water inside the tube that can be collected in a reservoir that is at least partially positioned above the mean water level of the body of water, or pressurized by compressed air or gas, or both. Water within such a reservoir may return to the body of water via a turbine, thereby generating electrical power (making the device a wave engine), or else the device's pumping action can be used for other purposes such as water circulation, propulsion, or cloud seeding.

A funnel-shaped underwater energy harvesting equipment includes a piezoelectric element configured to be installed at a seabed and to be moved by a fluid in order to convert vibration energy into electricity. The funnel-shaped underwater energy harvesting equipment further includes a fluid collector coupled to the piezoelectric element and configured to increase velocity of the fluid flowing toward the piezoelectric element. The harvesting equipment exhibits improved energy conversion efficiency, while simplifying the shape of the harvesting equipment.

A water pumping system used for lifting liquids in vertical or near vertical conduits or pipes to a higher elevation at a reduced energy cost. Also, the water pumping system can be used to circulate water between upper and lower elevations to generate hydropower energy at a lower energy cost. The water pumping system includes a water pump, air blowers, an air supply chamber, a lift conduit, a return conduit, a flotation device separation chamber, a plurality of floatation devices, one or more flotation device pushers, a dehydration unit, and two water storage tanks. The lift conduit and return conduit creating a continuous loop in which the flotation devices can circulate and act as a piston in the lifting conduit to elevate the water to higher elevations with reduced energy. The floatation devices include spacer rings and spacer rods. The floatation devices are inserted inside the lift conduit and the return conduit.

A water-driven turbine has an elongated endless conveyor with down and up streaming straightaways connected by travel-reversing turns. Paddles mounted on the conveyor present high resistance to waterflow on the downstream straightaway and low resistance to waterflow or the atmosphere on the upstream straightaway, the differential allowing the flow of water to continuously drive the conveyor which is connected to a power take-off shaft facilitating connection to a variety of energy-harnessing systems. The turbine can be towed, self-driven or mooring line manipulated to a flow site and is operable in unidirectional flows such as rivers and reversing flows such as tides at depths from surface to bottom. The paddles can be mounted or changed on shore, at the flow site and anywhere in between. The turbine is efficient in low and high velocity water flow, not easily damaged by floating debris, cavitation free and fish, mammal and environmentally friendly.

An energy transmission system for a fluid line having a generator unit with a power supply unit that can be arranged at a first location of the fluid line and at least one consumer unit having at least one consumer that can be arranged at a second location of the fluid line spaced apart from the first location is disclosed. The generator unit has a pressure surge generator connected to the power supply unit and the pressure surges can be generated and introduced into the fluid located in the fluid line, and the consumer unit has a pressure surge transducer that is connected to the at least one consumer by the pressure surges introduced into the fluid and can be converted into electrical energy that can be supplied to the at least one consumer.

An energy transmission system for a fluid line having a generator unit with a power supply unit that can be arranged at a first location of the fluid line and at least one consumer unit having at least one consumer that can be arranged at a second location of the fluid line spaced apart from the first location is disclosed. The generator unit has a pressure surge generator connected to the power supply unit and the pressure surges can be generated and introduced into the fluid located in the fluid line, and the consumer unit has a pressure surge transducer that is connected to the at least one consumer by the pressure surges introduced into the fluid and can be converted into electrical energy that can be supplied to the at least one consumer.

The disclosed hydroelectric power generation system includes a waterwheel rotated by falling water having multiple curved portions. Multiple circular members each having a cover are loaded in a corresponding one of the multiple curved portions, elevated with the cover in an open position to empty the circular member, filled with water upon reaching a top dead point thereof, and allowed to fall freely with the cover in a closed position. The cover of the circular members are automatically opened and closed. A track extends downwardly from a point at which the curved portion of the waterwheel is turned into a downwardly inclined position. The track guides the circular member to move by gravity along the track. A feed track allows the circular members to be supplied back to respective curved portions during rotation of the waterwheel. An output shaft of a gear train drives a generator.

The disclosed hydroelectric power generation system includes a waterwheel rotated by falling water having multiple curved portions. Multiple circular members each having a cover are loaded in a corresponding one of the multiple curved portions, elevated with the cover in an open position to empty the circular member, filled with water upon reaching a top dead point thereof, and allowed to fall freely with the cover in a closed position. The cover of the circular members are automatically opened and closed. A track extends downwardly from a point at which the curved portion of the waterwheel is turned into a downwardly inclined position. The track guides the circular member to move by gravity along the track. A feed track allows the circular members to be supplied back to respective curved portions during rotation of the waterwheel. An output shaft of a gear train drives a generator.

The multi-staged cowl described herein allows to increase and maximize water mass flow and pressure drop at the runner cross-section of a hydrokinetic turbine so as to maximize produced power output, while respecting dimensional constraints provided by a shallow body of water, a river for example, in which the hydrokinetic turbine can be submerged. The multi-staged cowl described herein can thus be configured so as to allow water to flow through the hydrokinetic turbine at a substantially stable water mass flow, eliminating instability, avoiding vortices, minimizing cavitation and avoiding fluid separation to negligible levels, and can include an inlet, an outlet and multiple stages which can extend between the inlet and the outlet, so that water can flow therethrough in a water flow direction.

The multi-staged cowl described herein allows to increase and maximize water mass flow and pressure drop at the runner cross-section of a hydrokinetic turbine so as to maximize produced power output, while respecting dimensional constraints provided by a shallow body of water, a river for example, in which the hydrokinetic turbine can be submerged. The multi-staged cowl described herein can thus be configured so as to allow water to flow through the hydrokinetic turbine at a substantially stable water mass flow, eliminating instability, avoiding vortices, minimizing cavitation and avoiding fluid separation to negligible levels, and can include an inlet, an outlet and multiple stages which can extend between the inlet and the outlet, so that water can flow therethrough in a water flow direction.