DOCKPOWER (Dock for Power from Water)

DockPower designs the marinas of the future by developing innovative and sustainable docks. Providing safe mooring for boats, it produces electricity through unique and internationally patented mechatronics based on the physical principle of “diffraction”. Furthermore, its technology aims to be environmentally sustainable by not blocking the natural circulation of water in the harbour, preserving marine habitats. DockPower has been designed as a standard module, to minimise production costs, but can be reproduced in series to suit various spatial scales. Moreover, thanks to the customisation of the finishes and the integrated instrumentation in the structure, it offers maximum compatibility with the landscape in which it is proposed.

The peculiarity of DockPower (https://www.dockpower.it/) is the ability to dissipate wave motion without blocking the passage of water: the wave passes through the section of the dock, dissipating its kinetic energy and producing electricity.

In addition, this feature significantly reduces the mechanical stress on the infrastructure and consequently on the anchoring elements, allowing the exchange of water within the mooring areas. In this way, stress on marine habitats in the harbour area is mitigated.

The dissipated energy is partly recovered by a "mechatronic" system able to produce electricity, whose production varies depending on the location and the wave motion to which the pier is subjected. From preliminary calculations, it is able to generate 500/600 W per linear meter and 20 cm wave.

Generally, DockPower is composed of modules with a plant size of 3,00 m width and 12,00 m length. In addition, different constructive systems can be implemented through the use of concrete, steel and/or composite materials. In this way, the system aims to be flexible to different landscapes. Indeed, even the type of finishing varies depending on the context and needs and does not affect the technical characteristics of the pier.

The strengths of the project are the originality and the ability to introduce absolutely innovative elements, compared to the many initiatives that seek to produce energy through wave motion. In particular, the project offers the best result with the least use of resources. It has a minimal impact on the environment, in terms of production and practically no impact in terms of landscape insertion. The mechatronic part is in fact completely hidden inside the pontoon and the "dissipative comb" solves some environmental problems typical of port areas, through an internationally patented technology that exploits wave diffraction. This means that the installation of a DockPower pier enables the creation of port infrastructures that are compatible with the environment and able to produce renewable energy.

The technology

1) Clean energy production is guaranteed 24 hours a day in the case of wave motion generated both by maritime traffic in the port or by naturally-generated waves;

2) DockPower provides sustainable solutions for better management of marine and coastal areas in terms of landscapes and environmental values;

3) DockPower may become a direct energy supplier to both work and pleasure boats, with a clean energy source guaranteed; 

4) Thanks to its modular structure, DockPower can be installed in different contexts and spatial scales, from the smallest touristic pier to the greatest industrial terminals.

DOCK POWER s.r.l. is an innovative start-up based in Riva del Garda, in the province of Trento (Italy), founded in 2018 at the end of a research and development project that lasted more than 5 years, during which no time resources and "energy" were spared. The intuition comes from the numerous experiences in the field of civil engineering of Davide Lorenzi and in the field of mechatronics of Massimo Luminari, and was able to materialise thanks to the skills of the team that makes up DockPower, which is headed by three engineers:

- Davide Lorenzi, civil engineer, conceived the particular structure of the pier, its architecture and environmental insertion;

- Massimo Luminari, nuclear engineer, conceived and designed the mechatronic part;

- Marco Fontana, civil engineer, specialised in ergotechnics