Watch this short movie about SeaPattern’s tests in Svartåfors hydropower plant, with staff from SeaPattern and Tekniska verken installing the turbine in the water.
SeaPattern and Tekniska verken collaborated during the spring to install a full-sized underwater hydrokinetic turbine downstream in the hydropower plant in Svartåfors, located near Linköping. Now they are ready to share their first findings and results.
By using AI and simulation-based technology, the goal was to increase the energy production in an existing hydropower plant and use the energy from water that already had passed through the traditional turbine. Additionally, the aim was to gain insights into its behavior in flowing water and evaluate the prototype’s functionality. According to SeaPattern, this could increase the energy efficiency in a hydroelectric plant up to 10%.
Findings and lessons learned
The most significant findings revealed that the turbine can generate the forecasted electricity under these conditions. However, some unexpected behaviors were observed in relatively high water flows. SeaPattern will use these insights to reconstruct the design for future tests scheduled for winter/spring 2024.
SeaPattern was granted the opportunity to participate in and realize their tests through the approval of test bed vouchers provided by the Linköping Climate Neutral and Viable Cities project. Each voucher is worth 20,000 SEK and is handed out to small to medium-sized companies within the energy-and climate sector, wishing to test a solution in the testbed.
“Test campaigns like these are very capital intensive, so every contribution counts and is equally important. We are very pleased that Linköping Climate Neutral and Viable Cities supports the realization of our products that contribute to the transition of using more renewable sources,” says Niklas Boman, CEO at SeaPattern.
The next step involves evaluating an installation featuring three interconnected turbines placed underwater. This evaluation, planned for winter 2023-2024, aims to verify the turbine’s effectiveness together and test the AI software supporting its operation.
Niklas Boman, CEO at SeaPattern Sweden AB.
About SeaPattern:
SeaPattern Sweden AB is a Swedish company that has developed a technology that enables an increase in the amount of electricity generated in an already installed hydropower plant. This is achieved by installing one or more of the company’s hydrokinetic turbines directly after an existing hydropower plant to use the energy from the moving water that has already passed through the traditional turbines.
