Self-tuning wave energy buoy for variable ocean conditions
This technology is a wave energy converter that generates electricity by harnessing the rocking motion of a floating structure on the ocean. As waves cause the float to pitch back and forth, water inside internal tanks sloshes between vertical columns through connecting channels. This sloshing water compresses and expands air pockets above it, driving small air turbines in each column to produce electrical power. The internal tank geometry can be tuned so its natural sloshing frequency matches the dominant wave frequency at a deployment site, maximizing energy capture.
What you could build
A modular offshore wave energy buoy that can be tuned to local wave climates for continuous power generation, sold or leased to offshore platform operators, island grid developers, or defense installations needing remote off-grid power.
Who in Virginia should care
Virginia's Hampton Roads region hosts major naval and offshore energy interests — Navy facilities, offshore wind developers, and defense contractors like Huntington Ingalls that could use or integrate autonomous ocean power nodes.
Readiness: Prototype likely
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Adetoso AFONJA, Stefano BRIZZOLARA
- Granted
- August 19, 2025
- Status
- Granted patent
- Patent number
- 12392312
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.