The orb-like Ocean-2 turns wave power into renewable energy

Think about the vast open ocean covering most of our planet

Imagine the power of the waves, hundreds, no thousands of kilometres away from shore

What if we could turn this force of nature into clean, sustainable energy

Meet Ocean 2, Pantalus' new wave power converter. Joining the ranks of ambitious renewable energy projects

this giant and strange buoy-like object wants to transform the ways we source our power

Let's see how it works, why it could matter, and whether it can survive the ocean's fury

constant, powerful and notoriously difficult to harness. Wave power has become a sort of holy

grail in renewable energy over the years. Wave and tidal converters are used across the globe

from Sri Lanka to Ghana to France and the UK, which is currently the world's leading producer

of wave and tidal power. But wave harnessing comes with its challenges. Converters often

break during storms, get fouled by marine biogrowth or simply cost too much per megawatt

to compete with all the other energy sources on the market. And renewable doesn't necessarily mean environmentally friendly

There are major environmental concerns, as wave energy converters tend to contribute to sound pollution in the sea

and disturb local ecosystems. Pantalisa, a startup based in Portland, Oregon, believes it's cracked a new design with Ocean 2

According to the company, their converter is a modular, flexible buoy system

designed to work with the ocean. Here's how. The part of Ocean 2 visible above the water's surface

makes it look like a giant ball. The energy converter is about 10 meters wide, built from durable composites and rust-proof alloys

The company has been testing Ocean 2 off the shore of Puget Sound in Washington State

collecting data on its performance, durability, and ecological impact. But before we dive in, how does wave energy become electrical power

As always, science has the answer, and it's awesome. Remember studying kinetic energy in school When the wind blows air across the ocean surface it creates friction that stacks the water up into waves The stronger the wind the bigger and more powerful the waves become This power created by movement is kinetic energy Now there are different ways to turn

kinetic energy into electrical energy. It's also how wind turbines work. And wave and tidal power

projects across the world all have their own conversion techniques. Ocean 2's all-black shape

could make this process very efficient. When the converter rides on waves, water is forced through

internal channels and up into a spherical or semi-spherical surface form, then down again

through turbines. Each movement up and down provides a chance to generate electricity

Pantalisa claims that the spherical design can help absorb parts of that energy and reduce the

risk of mechanical stress. The thing is, we still can't declare with certainty that this works in

practice. Ocean 2 is still a prototype, but preliminary testing has so far shown that the

converter is indeed quiet and therefore potentially less intrusive to the marine life around it

Pantalisa says that the first sound tests haven't detected any major disturbances

and their ecologists are monitoring the process. The tests also saw Ocean 2 pumping 50 kilowatts of energy

enough to power around 15 houses. There are still a lot of tests and challenges Ocean 2 needs to overcome

in order to turn this idea into reality. Ocean conditions can be ruthless

and the converter needs to withstand challenges, such as storm surges and the eroding saltiness of water

There are also questions of scalability, and there will be further tests on Ocean 2's impact on marine life

But if it proves successful, this project could have huge implications for the way we source our energy

If scaled up, a group of Ocean 2 converters could potentially generate gigawatts of wave power for entire communities

and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. So what do you think? Can Ocean 2 become a big player in renewable energy

And would you like to see more projects like it? Let us know in the comments. And subscribe for more explainers from What the Future on the technology shaping our world