LumaNet WECs
Anacapa’s wave energy converters combine the proprietary Luma power take-off with TTI’s NetBuoy™ prime mover to create a scalable, modular platform. From a 10kW subscale prototype in water this year to a 500kW commercial unit, the architecture is the same.
Advanced controls
Collaborative research with industrial and academic partners has given Anacapa an advanced control strategy utilizing Model Predictive Control (MPC), unlocking WEC potential.
Low mass
Advanced controls let Anacapa operate efficiently across a wide range of wave conditions without relying on mass to broaden response. The result is a lighter, cheaper, easier-to-deploy machine for any given power rating.
Modular
The WEC components are modular allowing application specific flexibility in scale from demonstration to utility scale.
Background
Wave energy converters have existed for decades. Most have failed at the same point: the power take-off, the mechanism that converts wave motion into usable electricity. Conventional systems rely on hydraulic or mechanical PTOs designed for rotary motion, not the high-force, low-velocity linear motion of ocean waves. The result is inefficiency, mechanical complexity, and cost that has kept wave energy uncompetitive. Anacapa has worked for years to solve this specific problem.
Luma
Power Take-Off
Anacapa, in partnership with McCleer Power, have developed a high-performance power take-off for ocean wave energy conversion, enabling high-efficiency, controllable direct-drive power conversion at high forces and low velocities. This technology, packaged together as a linear, universal modular actuator/absorber (Luma), enables a new generation of performance-optimized wave energy converters, expanding the horizons of achievable Levelized Cost of Energy in the sector.
Efficient & Reliable
At the heart of the Luma PTO system is a direct drive permanent magnet linear motor/generator, which yields high-efficiencies at low speeds and high forces, while being mechanically simple with few failure prone components
Controllable
The Luma PTO system offers operation in four quadrants of control enabling advanced control methodologies, while being finely controllable in both force and position control applications.
Scalable
All the system components are inherently modular and scalable. The Luma PTO system stroke and force capabilities can be configured to suit the application all the way from prototype to utility scale.
NetBuoy™ Prime Mover
TTI Marine Renewables‘ NetBuoy is the body that interfaces with the ocean, capturing wave energy and transferring it to the Luma PTO. NetBuoy is a pressurized reinforced elastomer buoy is restrained within a rope net, which substantially reduces the construction and installation cost of wave energy converter prime movers compared with traditional steel or composite structures. Anacapa has worked for several years to integrate NetBuoy technology into its wave energy converters. Together, the LumaNet WEC system combines two proprietary and complementary technology layers in the lightweight inflatable prime mover and direct drive power take-off.
Technology development
Anacapa has been developing the patented Luma PTO technology for several years. Performance has been verified through numerical and finite element modelling, physical testing, and third-party assessment. In 2021, a 60kW, 2m stroke prototype PTO was built and validated through experimental testing at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Sandia National Laboratories has provided technical support for full-scale CFD modelling via the U.S. Department of Energy’s TEAMER program. DNV has issued a Statement of Feasibility for the LumaNet WEC under DNV-SE-0120, confirming the viability of our technology and certification pathway.
Where we are now
A 10kW subscale prototype is in development, with in-water testing targeted for the end of the year. The system architecture is designed to scale to a 500kW commercial unit without fundamental redesign, a direct consequence of the Luma PTO’s modular architecture. We are at the same stage wind was at in the early 1980s. We know what comes next.