'Fish Technology' Culls Renewable Energy From Slow Water Currents

December 9, 2008 2:57 p.m. EST

Ann Arbor, MI (AHN) - A University of Michigan engineer has developed a machine that works like a fish, turning potentially destructive vibrations in water into clean, renewable energy.

The machine, called VIVACE, is the subject of a paper published in a recent issue of the Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Artic Engineering.

It is the first known device that could draw energy from most water currents around the world, according to a statement from the University of Michigan.

VIVACE works in flowing water moving slower than 2 knots, or about 2 miles per hour. Most water currents are slower than 3 knots, but turbines and water mills need an average of 5 or 6 knots to operate efficiently.

The machine, named because it stands for Vortex Induced Vibrations for Aquatic Clean Energy, enhances previously dangerous vibration to make use of their energy potential.

"There won't be one solution for the world's energy needs," VIVACE developer Michael Bernitsas, a professor at the U-M department of naval architecture and marine engineering, said in the statement. "But if we could harness 0.1 percent of the energy in the ocean, we could support the energy needs of 15 billion people."

The researchers are working to deploy a pilot project in the Detroit River within the next year and a half.