S.E.WA.T. (Sustainable Energy by WAves Trap)

The SEWAT project aims to produce sustainable energy, in large quantities and at high power, with relatively small static and modular plants, exploiting the energy possessed by the waves of the sea, even if of small size. Our system is modular, scalable and replicable ; it is conceptually extremely banal and uses technologies very simple in use in other fields, but is able to produce a lot of energy without waste, waste water , CO2, risks and implications harmful to the environment and the community. The possibility of pollution is non-existent. It is occupied a marginal waterfront that cannot be used for other purposes, it does not take away space for other activities and does not create substantial impediments to navigation. The plants can be located outside the breakwaters or, themselves, can perform the function of breakwaters to create ports or to protect the coast. The secondary objective, in fact, linked to the particular geometry of the system, is to protect the coast from erosion and to guarantee an effective restoration of the beaches. It uses common technology and commonly used materials that do not present supply problems. Electricity, characterized by great variability, can be fed into the grid only after stabilization. The portion of energy produced in excess of consumption can be used to produce green hydrogen which would constitute the energy accumulator pending its use in periods of reduced productivity. An estimate of the power involved is difficult, because the exploitation of this energy source has not a historical past and because the proposed installation is completely new. In the technical literature there are not developed theories or reliable data. A module about 50 meters long and 6 meters wide should produce an useful power (electricity) of about 180 kW with a sea force 3. The power becomes equal to 2500 kW during periods of sea force 6.

The way of exploiting wave energy with the SEWAT device is very simple but very effective and is inspired by the observation of the natural scenery offered by the breaking waves

When the wave breaks on the rocks, the water rises on the cliff and then falls uncontrollably.

So in nature there is the dissipation of wave energy which often involves the erosion of the coast.

With the proposed SEWAT device we want to control the fall of the water of the breaking waves with the aim of obtaining energy.

 The proposed device is a collector that collects the energy that waves have received from the wind over an absorbent surface area of hundreds of square miles. Consequently, the energy density (understood as the energy obtainable per unit of occupied surface) is very high and allows to obtain high powers.

It should be noted that energy is not subtracted from other natural systems, because the captured energy would still be naturally dissipated.

The SEWAT project  is currently in an experimental phase. Qualitative tests were carried out using a model in order to validate the concept (Technology Readiness Level - TRL3 experimental proof of concept). At present we are building an experimental prototype to be tested at sea in real conditions (TRL 7 system prototype demonstration in operational environment). It will be located in the sea next to a breakwater barrier in the Municipality of  Torchiarolo (Brindisi).

The purpose of experimenting with the prototype is to test the productivity of the system and gain further knowledge for the development of the project

The very simple but ingenious idea concerns the production of large quantities of renewable  energy, using the energy of small waves in a sustainable way.  No risk, no dangerous implications and no CO2 production. The goal is to exploit energy from a source that has so far been considered marginal. The system consists of modular concrete tanks, placed in the sea, partly submerged, placed on the side of dams and breakwaters barrier exposed to the waves or in the distance, parallel to the coast, at a certain distance to protect the coast itself.