The new year was accompanied by a massive storm front with very high and powerful waves pulling over the Aegean sea. The storm hit SINN Power’s research and development site in Iraklio, Greece in January and exposed the company’s WEC modules for five days to the most extreme weather conditions since the beginning of operations in 2015.
In 2015, one year after SINN Power was founded, the Bavarian company started operations of its innovative wave energy technology in Iraklio, Greece. Five years later, the energy system consists of several prototypes, each equipped with up to eight self-developed generators with integrated power electronics (PowerTrain 3.4). A few months ago the system was supplemented with a small wind turbine that is also euqipped with the SINN PowerTrain to test a complete off-grid energy system.
Coping with harsh weather conditions in extreme environments is one of the key aspects that all ocean energy companies are exposed to. At the beginning of January the research & development facility was hit by the most severe storm since the beginning of operations. Storms in the past have caused minor damages to the technology that could be repaired easily.
These experiences and learnings are extremely important and allow constant technology optimizations to offer customers a safe and reliable energy system in the future.
Dr. Philipp Sinn, founder and CEO at SINN Power, is relieved that the damage accounts only to easily repairable parts: „We were very lucky. The structure of the wave energy modules was able to withstand the storm. Thanks to precise weather forecasts and our learnings from the past few years, we were able to remove the floating bodies in time to avoid major damages. Small components, such as cable boxes or electronic parts from third-party suppliers, could already be exchanged without any problems.“
Sinn emphasizes once again on the importance of past learnings: These experiences contribute to the development of a safe and reliable energy system. All energy systems contain sensitive electrical components and power electronics which must not be exposed to any water or fluids for smooth operations. SINN Power developed the SINN PowerTrain, a generator with integrated power electronics, that is IP-68 protected and withstands any harsh environments.
The SINN Power wave energy modules are back in operation only a few weeks after the storms. In 2020, the SINN PowerTrain 4.0 will replace the previous version. 4.0 has a higher nominal power and can be individually expanded modularly. The 4.0 product family is a pioneer for off-grid and smart-grid applications and enables previously impossible constellations to pave the way toward a sustainable future.
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Press contact:
Jana Funk Business Development & Marketing
SINN Power GmbH Germeringer Str. 9, 82131 Gauting, Germany www.sinnpower.com