A hybrid energy harvesting system for powering underwater vehicles having at least one thermal engine, at least one of a solar or a wave energy harvester, and a battery which stores electric energy produced by the harvesters. The energy harvesters keep the battery charged and thereby expand an underwater vehicle's operational areas to high latitudes and shallow water. Multiple thermal engines employing different phase-change materials can be used to expand the vehicle's working temperature range and thus allow it to operate over a larger area. An electric motor powered by the battery and a pump driven by the motor can be used to pump hydraulic fluid between the accumulators and external bladders of the thermal engines to cause the vehicle to descend and ascend when the thermal gradient to which the vehicle is subjected is insufficient.

A boat-mounted wind power assembly for powering devices of a boat includes a first shaft that is rotatably coupled to and extends vertically from a boat. A plurality of blades is coupled to and extends from the first shaft. A generator is operationally coupled to the first shaft. A rectifier is operationally coupled the generator. A battery, which is rechargeable, is operationally coupled to the rectifier. The battery is selectively couplable to devices of the boat. The blades are configured to convert kinetic energy of wind into rotation of the first shaft. The generator is positioned to convert rotation of the first shaft into unstable alternating current. The rectifier is positioned to convert the unstable alternating current from the generator to direct current so that the battery is charged by the generator. The battery is configured to supply direct current to power the devices of the boat.

A power generation sailing ship has a sail provided on a deck, a water turbine connected to a front end of a shaft passing through a bow part outer hull and extending forward, a power generator disposed in a front body of the sailing ship and connected to a rear end of the shaft, and an energy storage device for directly storing electric energy generated by the power generator or converting the electric energy into energy of a substance and storing the substance.

An energy-harvesting compute grid includes computing assemblies that cooperate with mobile energy harvesters configured to be deployed on a body of water. The plurality of energy harvesters are positioned on and move adjacent to an upper surface of a body of water, and the locations of the energy harvesters can be monitored and controlled. The wide-spread gathering by the harvesters of environmental data within that geospatial area permits the forecasting of environmental factors, the discovery of advantageous energy-harvesting opportunities, the observation and tracking of hazardous objects and conditions, the efficient distribution of data and/or tasks to and between the harvesters included in the compute grid, the efficient execution of logistical operations to support, upgrade, maintain, and repair the cluster, and the opportunity to execute data-gathering across an area much larger than that afforded by an individual harvester (e.g., radio astronomy, 3D tracking of and recording of the communication patterns of marine mammals, etc.). The computational tasks can be shared and distributed among a compute grid implemented in part by a collection of individual floating self-propelled energy harvesters thereby providing many benefits related to cost and efficiency that are unavailable to relatively isolated energy harvesters, and likewise unavailable to terrestrial compute grids of the prior art.

Multiple systems and methods for providing supervised control of subsea vehicles for offshore asset management as well as supplemental autonomous control behaviors are described herein. These systems and methods provide offshore support and alternative supervised control of one or more vehicle generally irrespective of where the vehicle resides in an oil and gas offshore field.

An energy recovery system 100 for a marine vessel 200 is herein disclosed comprising at least one water turbine 101, 102 with vertical axis 105, 106 respectively arranged aft and off center, that is either port side or starboard side, with respect to a rotational axis 211 of a respective propeller but at a distance from the propeller and from the rotational axis of the propeller such as to be at least partially in a wake range 21 of the propeller in order to recover at least part of the dissipated rotational power. A vessel 200 comprising at least one energy recovery system 100 and a method for recovering at least part of the energy dissipated by the marine vessel are herein also disclosed.

A subsea system for exploiting an oceanic current shear includes a first vehicle positionable in a first oceanic current and tethered to a second vehicle positionable in a second oceanic current. The first and second oceanic currents have a velocity differential. A drag or lift device integral or attached to the first vehicle exerts a force through the tether on the second vehicle and its associated drag or lift device, thus providing a net propulsive force. Hydrofoils or control devices attached to the vehicles provide hydrodynamic lift, drag, and/or depth control that allow the direction of the force to be controlled for propulsion in a desired direction. The relative currents and/or change in separation of the vehicles can be used for energy harvesting. Turbines and generators coupled to the vehicles harvest energy for long term subsea endurance. A sensor aperture comprises a plurality of sensors coupled to components of the subsea system.

A mobile underwater power generation system for an ocean-going vessel utilizing gravitational potential energy, including a hull of the ocean-going vessel, a cabin water tank, an open annular pipe structure, a ducted dual-magnetic circuit coreless tidal generator, a ducted water transfer pump, a fuel generator set, a control cabinet, a first electric motor, a second electric motor, a first propeller and a second propeller. The ducted water transfer pump includes a main shaft, a first fixing ring, an annular housing, a first bearing component, an annular stator winding structure, a rotor permanent magnet, a second bearing component, a second fixing ring, first fixing components, a flange bolt, a first rotor graphite bearing, an annular mounting sleeve, a water guide blade, a lead wire of the annular stator winding structure, a second rotor graphite bearing and second fixing components.

An intentional fluid manipulation apparatus (IFMA) assembly with a first thrust apparatus that imparts a first induced velocity to a local free stream flow during a nominal operation requirement. The first thrust apparatus creates a streamtube. A second thrust apparatus is located in a downstream portion of the streamtube. The second thrust apparatus imparts a second induced velocity to the local free stream flow. The second induced velocity at the location of the second thrust apparatus has a component in a direction opposite to the direction of the first induced velocity at the location of the second thrust apparatus.

A computing apparatus that is integrated within a flotation module, the system obtaining the energy required to power its computing operations from waves that travel across the surface of a body of water on which the flotation module sets. Additionally, the self-powered computing apparatus employs novel designs to utilize its close proximity to the body of water and/or to strong ocean winds to significantly lower the cost and complexity of cooling their computing circuits.