The Technology
Static Hydro Energy has invented a technology called CAPO (compressed air pressure optimization) that harvests the pressure inherent in waste compressed air, or indeed, any other compressed gas, and combines it with gravity and water to generate electricity. Currently, with the assistance of Imperial College London, the company has completed a Demonstration Model on which we have successfully executed a full suite of tests that have proven the technology works.
The technology employs gravity to drive a water ram over submerged and encapsulated hydro turbines. It then uses waste or free compressed air to move the spent water that has transferred its energy to the turbines, back into the surrounding body of water.
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How Is This Concept Different?
There are myriad schemes and Doctoral Theses on- line proposing the use of compressed air to drive turbines. On a larger scale, there are plans to convert excess electricity, generated at times of low demand, into compressed air that will be stored in huge underground caverns sited next to existing power stations. This compressed air can then be used to generate electricity when demand peaks. However, all of these plans and schemes propose feeding compressed air directly on to turbine runners. Unfortunately, even using compressed air at high bar, pressure is not a very efficient way to drive turbines.
What is needed is force, not pressure. And this is how our technology differs from all the other schemes. We harvest the pressure inherent in compressed air, or any other compressed gas, then combine the pressure with gravity and water to turn that pressure into a force. So essentially, a CAPO machine is a pressure to force converter. In essence, the technology is a very efficient way to move large volumes of water. The ability to generate electricity just happens to be a wonderful by-product.
As the technology is powered by waste, or free compressed air, the process will always be efficient. The abundant availability of waste compressed air is the overriding factor that drove the development of CAPO technology. In Ireland, we commissioned Irish Manufacturing Research to conduct an independent audit across the manufacturing spectrum to ascertain the level of waste compressed air common to industry in general. The audit was undertaken in Boston Scientific, Pfizer/ Wyeth and Autolaunch, part of the Canadian giant, Magna. In all cases, enough waste compressed air was identified to power a plethora of CAPO machines.