Markets

The markets available for VIVACE include: coastal electrical generation, low-head hydropower, desalination pumping, and many others.

  • Coastal Generation: More than 50% of the U.S. population lives and works within 50 miles of the coastline, while coastal areas account for only 11% of the nation’s land area. This trend, which is repeated around the world, indicates the need for electrical generation at or near the coast.

  • Low-head Hydropower: The push to decommission and demolish dams, and the lack of new traditional hydropower projects indicate an increasing unwillingness to radically alter river environments for power and/or water impoundment. VIVACE offers a way to minimize the impact to the river while extracting useful energy in the form of electricity or pumped water.

  • Desalination: The world’s ever growing population requires more and more fresh water for drinking, agriculture and other needs. Desalination of seawater is increasingly being employed to augment local water supplies. Every year, more than two million gallons per day of desalination capacity is installed. VIVACE can supply the pumping power for this vital installation renewably.

  • Others: VIVACE is highly scalable and can produce energy over a wide range of current speeds, which opens up the opportunity for a range of diverse markets ranging from perpetually powered ocean sensors to irrigation pumping in developing countries.

Vivaceunderwater3small2

Ocean Power

Ocean currents

The world’s oceans contain an astounding amount of energy in the form of waves, currents, tidal flows and temperature gradients. VIVACE can cost-effectively harness the energy in moving water, either prevailing currents or tidal fluctuations, to produce electricity. Estimates for the energy contained in these range from 280,000 Terawatt-hours (TWh) to over 700,000 TWh. These figures are particularly impressive when compared to worldwide electricity generation which is approximately 16,000 TWh. It should be noted, however, that not all of the energy can be removed from ocean currents without causing irreparable harm to the world’s weather patterns.

While some ocean currents are in remote locations, the map shows that many prevailing ocean currents hug the populous continental coastlines. The total accessible market, near population centers, is estimated at 4,000 TWh, one quarter of the world’s current electricity demand.

Prevailing Ocean Currents Can Provide Power to Coastal Populations.

River Power & Dam Replacement

River and dams

In the past, societies were willing to exchange disrupting river environments with dams for electrical generation and the impoundment of water. But today, this notion is less welcome. This trend is evidenced by the fierce resistance to the construction of new dams and the calls to remove dams that have outlived their usefulness. Dozens of old dams are removed every year and the pace is accelerating. VIVACE offers an opportunity to generate electricity or pump water at these locations while returning these rivers to a more natural state.

According to World Energy Council, the remaining exploitable falling water potential globally is about 5,400 TWh/yr. The potential is even greater when the dam replacement opportunities are included.

Pumping for Desalination

Desalination graph

Approximately 97.5% of the Earth’s water is seawater, and no more than about 2.5% is fresh water, and most fresh water is held in glaciers, icebergs, and underground reservoirs. Water that can be used easily by humans, such as that in rivers and lakes, accounts for just 0.1% of the total. Meanwhile, the global population topped 6 billion in 2000 and is expected to reach 8 billion by 2025, of which 3.5 billion are likely to face water shortages. An important component of the solution to this growing problem is desalination. However, vast amounts of energy are required to supply fresh water for ever growing populations. VIVACE can supply the pumping power (and power for other demands) in a renewable manner without emitting greenhouse gases or other pollutants.

As shown in the graph, the average annual growth in desalination capacity over the past 20 years is approximately two million cubic meters per day.

Other Applications

VIVACE is highly scalable and can produce energy over a wide range of current speeds. These attributes allow energy to be derived from nearly any flowing resource. Energy applications perpetually powered ocean sensors, uninterruptible power for critical coastal facilities, and the supply of electricity to offshore facilities without the logistical challenge of supplying diesel to generator sets.

Pumping applications beyond desalination also present attractive markets for VHE. VIVACE installations can be placed in rivers and used to raise irrigation water without a dam and without dramatically altering the riverine environment. Large quantities of water must also be pumped for remediation projects. Modular VIVACE units could be used for this purpose and then removed and re-used at another site.