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A product based on a unique technology
Save Marine is a start-up created two years ago, on the initiative of Bernard Perriere. This inventor has developed " a new way to make alternators s". The company develops electricity production solutions via hydrolic and wind generators. It has an innovative technology that allows production to begin at low current speeds. " We have a very special technology that allows us to make electricity at low speeds, which no one else is able to do." explains Jean-Dominique Zanus, Sales Director of Save Marine.
It has just developed a hydro-generator for the yachting world. " It's a generator designed for cruising sailboats, optimized for speeds between 3 and 8 knots. It's not for the racing world." . Thanks to a system of 72 magnets integrated on the outside of the blades, without ball bearings, the turbine does not need much energy or inertia to produce electricity.
" To make it simple, an alternator, if you put current to it, it makes an engine and if you put force to it, it becomes a generator that produces current. In the water it is a hydrolienne and in the air it is a wind turbine. At first we specialized in water because it is much more powerful than air, so it is more interesting to manage comments Jean-Dominique.
Save Marine already had the capacity to produce hydraulic turbines, but Bernard Perriere tried to create something different by loading the magnets " we have nine patents on this very particular way of making this generator" .
" My first job was as a sailing instructor, so I took a lot of people on boats and I made the connection that on cruise ships there is a growing need for electricity." explains Jean-Dominique, hence the birth of the project.
Electricity production is based on three key elements
Save Marine has been working for more than a year and a half on the development of this hydrogenerator. The technology is based on 3 axes:
- A special way of arranging magnets and coils;
- Magnets that are cast directly into the resin and do not interfere with the production and emission of electricity Our advantage is that the magnets and the coils are watertight so the generator itself does not need to be watertight. We save on gaskets and therefore wear and tear because for a gasket to be tight, it must rub, there is no mystery ."
- A fairing that protects magnets, coils and propeller and has two advantages. " The first one is that it is manufactured in a particular way, it is what we call the Naca profiles, which are well known and which have the particularity to accelerate the flow inside the turbine by gaining about 10 %. The speed is artificially created with this acceleration. The other advantage is that we reduce drag with a streamlined profile."
The hydro-generator does not encounter disturbances even at low speeds.
A product in the testing phase
For the moment, test phases are underway and nothing is certain or validated, but we are already obtaining 80 watts at 5 knots and the final ambition is to exceed 100 and reach 120 watts at 12 volts. " We're hoping to get there, we're hopeful and we're continuing to work."
The tests continue " We make 3 kinds" explains Jean-Dominique. First of all, there are lab tests we run the turbine without water, to see what it has in the belly, to study the mechanical part" then there are tests on the water on motor boats that allow us to set the speed exactly as we want it" and finally " We're in the process of starting tests on sailboats to see in real-life situations how the machine behaves."
On the other hand, two types of tests will be carried out on the sailboats. The first one consists in carrying out tests on a daily basis " We found suction cups in the U.S. that allow us for certain types of boat sterns to temporarily install our machine without making holes." Thanks to this system, the developers of the hydro-generator can quickly multiply the tests on the boat " We arrive with our equipment for a day spent at sea with the navigators, and we validate the behavior of the machine ."
Finally, the hydro-generator must be actually installed and requires use over several months. " We can't ask people to temporarily install the machine to test it and return it to us. So instead we're going to go on a marketing basis with special sales terms with a discount on the price and a time frame to change their mind." The choice of customers will be made by the company, which wants to ensure that it has real browsers so that the product can be tested regularly.
A simple installation to implement
" We also worked a lot on the top part to have a powerful and nice product, simple to install and easy to use." explains Jean-Dominique. On Save Marine's hydrogenerator, there is no rudder like on other competing models. " The thing about a rudder is that if there is a problem, the rudder pins along the hull hit the transom when the boat goes backwards." The Save Marine system is composed of an articulated arm that pivots " the pivot is much further back so when the boat goes backwards, our streamlined arm pivots and doesn't touch the back of the boat." The other advantage of this system is that the turbine is set back from the axis of the boat Since the rudder is at the front of the turbine, we move it back far enough so that at the speed the magnets are working, the turbine is far enough away from the rudder so that the disturbance caused by the rudder in the water is eliminated when the water enters the turbine. If you stick the turbine right behind the rudder, every time you move the rudder it will bring disturbed water into the turbine. You only need to have 50 cm between the rudder and the turbine to get the water flow back to laminar ."
To install it on the boat, nothing could be easier. Just attach a plate. Everything else can be removed and replaced with a single click. The hydrogenerator must be able to adapt to the needs of the sailors and correspond to their sailing conditions. It can be used by people who go on long cruises or around the world or by sailors who go to sea for shorter periods, 3 to 4 days and use their sterndeck. " You don't want to have something in the middle of it that clutters it. "
An upcoming commercialization
" For the moment we are in phase 2 of the development, the objective in 6 months is to be in a classic marketing process. "The product will be marketed initially through direct sales to understand how the market works, to be in direct contact with the customer and to ensure a service that we master from A to Z ". Boat repair yards are also being considered for involvement in the project.
This hydrogenerator will be marketed in preview at the Nautic of Paris with particular conditions. The selling price will be 3 990 euros
