- Pleuger Industries is partnering with the Sub-Sea Storage System for the Renewable Energy System.
- The StEnSea is oceanic pressure-based energy storage and retrieval technology.
- Utilizing a 600-to-800 meter pumped-hydropower storage technology.
- Developed and financially supported by both the US and German governments for wider global deployment.
With renowned submersible motor pump technology, Pleuger Industries (PLEUGER) works on a new subsea energy storage system under the StEnSea (Stored Energy in the Sea) project. The company plans to revolutionize renewable energy storage with pumped storage hydropower in deep sea, working together with Fraunhofer IEE and Sperra.
Also read: American-Made Program Drives Innovation at RE+ Conference
The German Fraunhofer Institute initiated the long-duration energy storage concept, the StEnSea project, in 2012. Rather than tapping into conventional surface-based hydropower, Pleuger’s scheme utilizes hollow concrete spheres arranged along the seabed from 600 to 800 meters below the ocean’s surface.
The principle is rather simple: on low demand, Pleuger’s custom submersible pumps drain these spheres of water, thereby stocking potential energy. On surging demand, water rushes back into the spheres, and the pumps transform into turbines, generating electricity.
This subsea energy storage method is similar to conventional pumped hydropower, but the adaptation of this system to an underwater environment is unique. The system uses ocean pressure for efficient storage and release of energy, a strategy that makes it particularly suited to coastal areas with renewable energy integration needs.
Global GIS mapping of coastal marine sites indicates multiple potential locations for deployment, from Norway to Portugal, on the US East and West Coasts, in Brazil, and in Japan. This international scope underscores adaptability and scalability, Pleuger says, which are absolutely necessary for stabilizing the power grid and reducing dependency on fossil fuels. The discreet, modular solution would store energy beneath the surface of the ocean, redefining renewable energy storage, as this StEnSea project does.
Also read: Norway’s Deep Wind Offshore Targets Chile with Offshore Wind Lease Application
Pleuger is involved since the project began; he co-developed with his partners the first subsea-underwater pump prototype. Only recently did this project enjoy major investments on both the part of the U.S. and the German government. In this next step, the company is actually working on its 10-meter prototype in order to be able to make up to 0.5 MW at depths larger than 600 meters.
Pleuger Industries, with its partners, should advance StEnSea-a first-of-its kind subsea energy storage system based on the natural pressure of the ocean. That’s because it is designed perfectly in tune with aspirations all over the world regarding energy solutions that are at the same time scalable, sustainable, and operated at ocean depths.
