VentureBeat

In the high-stakes world of clean energy technologies — where even the slightest engineering tweak can mean the difference between market leader and also-ran — developing a system solely around biological designs might seem like an unusual strategy. Yet Sydney, Australia-based BioPower Systems, in seeking to prove the old dictum that you can’t improve on nature, has done just that: building two ocean power conversion systems modeled around a shark’s fin and a sea plant’s fronds.

The Australian firm is but one of a handful to bring a biomimetic design, or a design meant to imitate life, out of the laboratory setting; other ongoing projects, though still deep in the R&D phase, seek to apply designs from seaweeds, bats, termites and abalones to develop products in a range of fields, including medicine, cosmetics and renewable energy. Andrew Parker, an Australian scientist who is a pioneer in the field, sought inspiration from the microscopic grooves in a 45-million-year-old fly’s eye to build solar panels, for example.

Its BioStream tidal power system, meant to simulate the streamlined propulsion of fast swimmers like shark and tuna, is a fixed device that harnesses the energy of a moving stream by oscillating back and forth in line with the flow. This oscillating motion drives the system against the resisting torque of an electrical generator; the company is developing configurations with 250 kilowatt, 500 kW and 1000 kW capacities to fit conditions in various locations.

Similarly, BioPower’s BioWave power system, which mimicks the swaying movements of kelp fronds, derives its energy-producing capacity from the oscillating motion caused by passing ocean waves. The company is developing the same configurations as for its BioStream system. Each system will reach over 65 ft in height.

The base that anchors these systems, the BioBase, is likewise biologically-inspired. Instead of relying on a single large piling, each uses several small “roots” to hold it down; this shrinks the diameter of the base, thus minimizing its impact on the seabed. This helps ease the installation process and minimize costs by avoiding the need for large drill rigs or other specialized vessels. Once it is installed, either the BioWave or BioStream system can easily be secured with the help of a single ship; another promising application for the base design could be for offshore wind turbines, the company says.

Furthermore, both systems can automatically adapt to extreme conditions — adopting a more streamlined configuration or even ceasing operations to prevent excess loading. This flexibility allows for the use of lighter designs and reduces the need for costly reparations or replacements. The lack of rotatory motion also makes the systems less dangerous for marine organisms and lessens their risk of disrupting the natural environment. Their ability to align themselves with the prevailing flow means they can orient themselves to maximize their energy output.

CEO Tim Finnigan says the plan is to deploy these units in multiples, as you would for a wind farm, along the ocean floor. BioPower Systems has raised over $12 million in funding from both private and government sources since the beginning of the year and is close to completing lab-scale demonstrations. It just announced that it would deploy 2 full-size 250 kW test units in Tasmania by 2009: a BioWave system at King Island and BioStream system at Flinders Island. The power they generate should be enough to supply roughly 250-500 homes. BioPower will launch its first commercial products in 2010.

The big question, of course, will be how its commercial systems compare to its competitors’ products. In the U.S., companies like Hydro Green Energy, Verdant Power and Free Flow Power are also getting set to deploy large-scale demonstration units both offshore and on riverbeds. Some of these startups have struggled with design and wear and tear issues in the past; they’ve also been subject to close scrutiny from both environmental groups and government officials concerned about the environmental impact of their rotating turbines.

Finavera Renewables, a publicly-traded Canadian company, inked a deal with PG&E late last year to develop a 2 MW wave power farm off the Northern California coast. Finavera claims its modular AquaBuOY buoy-array systems are easily scalable and capable of weathering the most extreme conditions. OreCon, a British startup that has raised $24 million, is getting ready to launch a full-scale demonstration unit off the coast of England in Cornwall.

As with other companies, BioPower will undoubtedly face questions about its systems’ scalability and costs. Some have also questioned the systems’ ability to produce significant amounts of energy, casting doubt on their designs’ effectiveness and scalability. It hasn’t yet revealed how much power it expects its commercial-scale installments to produce though it has signaled its interest in deploying them throughout Western Europe, Oceania, Western Canada and even parts of the U.S. Before it does that, however, it will first have to prove that it can successfully pass Mother Nature’s test.

Hydro Green Energy, another player in the burgeoning hydrokinetic sector, has just capped a $2.6 million first funding round led by the Quercus Trust.

The Houston-based company holds 13 preliminary permits from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for projects in Alaska and Mississippi; it expects its first project, on the Mississippi River in Minnesota, to begin operations in late August. Another four projects that will be built downstream of existing U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ dams in Mississippi will generate close to 100 megawatts.

Similarly to Verdant Power, which we wrote about a few days ago, Hydro Green’s turbine arrays don’t require large structures or a damming of water to work. The arrays are mounted on barges, which allows for the raising and lowering of individual units — greatly facilitating control and maintenance operations. They also have a relatively benign environmental impact and, unlike bottom-anchored turbines, have little effect on the riverbed. Each turbine array has a maximum average capacity of 250 kW.

In 2006, a NASA-sponsored study estimated that Hydro Green’s turbine design would produce at least 240% more power than similar technologies in the U.S. and the U.K. — a finding that was corroborated by two independent energy consulting groups, Concepts NREC and Hatch Energy.

Another hydrokinetic firm, Massachusetts-based Free Flow Power, just unveiled a $3 billion plan to install thousands of in stream electric turbines at 59 sites along the Mississippi River. CEO Daniel R. Irvin believes the turbines will generate 1,600 megawatts, enough to power 1.5 million homes. The turbines, which will be made of carbon fiber or another lightweight composite material, will be attached to pilings in the river bed.

The project is facing close scrutiny from state and federal environmental regulators and the Army Corps, which have both expressed concerns about the turbines’ impact on river navigation and the river’s wildlife. This extra oversight has done little to dampen activity in the sector, however, with Hydro’s funding round just the latest in a series of investments over the last year.