Floating Offshore Solar Honeycomb Panels for Ammonia Energy Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies fail to provide a stable, low-cost, and high-quality supply of renewable energy on a national and global scale, and lack the capability to capture and remove CO2 from the atmosphere effectively.
Innovation Solution
A carbon-free energy supply system utilizing floating offshore photovoltaic power generation plants, energy carriers like liquefied ammonia, and a management and control system for stable energy distribution, including TCP/IP-based secure communication and energy conversion devices, to meet global energy demands and store energy carriers for up to six months.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional photovoltaic power generation systems are used, then electricity can be generated from renewable energy, but the system cannot produce sufficient amounts of renewable energy to replace nearly all primary energy needed on a national and global scale
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from land-based photovoltaic systems to floating offshore photovoltaic systems, utilizing the three-dimensional space above water surfaces. This dimensional shift allows deployment over oceans and large water bodies, exponentially increasing the available area for energy generation without consuming additional land resources.
Solution Approach 2:
The floating offshore platform serves multiple functions: it generates electricity through photovoltaic panels, provides artificial reefs for marine ecosystems, and can be deployed in various water depths and locations. This multi-functionality increases energy production capacity while adding ecological and economic value.
2Reliability
If renewable energy is generated in large quantities, then carbon-free energy supply can be achieved, but the system lacks the capability to store and supply the produced renewable energy in a stable, low-cost, and high-quality manner
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces ammonia as an intermediary energy carrier that converts intermittent renewable electricity into storable chemical energy. Ammonia synthesis plants convert excess electricity into ammonia, which can be stored indefinitely and transported via existing infrastructure, bridging the gap between variable generation and stable supply requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transforms energy from one form (electricity) to another (ammonia chemical energy) with different storage and transport characteristics. This parameter change enables long-term storage and flexible distribution, converting the temporal and spatial constraints of renewable energy into manageable parameters.
3Productivity
If floating offshore photovoltaic plants are deployed in equatorial waters with abundant sunshine, then sufficient renewable energy can be produced, but the system lacks infrastructure for energy transport and distribution to consumption areas
Solution Approach 1:
The system utilizes existing global ammonia infrastructure (production facilities, storage tanks, shipping routes, and distribution networks) to transport and deliver energy. By converting renewable electricity into ammonia, the system leverages established commercial infrastructure rather than requiring new dedicated transport infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of building new infrastructure to transport electricity directly from offshore plants to consumption areas, the system inverts the approach by converting energy into a storable chemical form (ammonia) at the generation site, then utilizing existing reverse logistics infrastructure for transport and distribution.
4Productivity
If large-scale floating offshore photovoltaic systems are implemented, then global energy demands can be met, but the system complexity and management requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the massive global energy system into modular floating offshore plants, each operating semi-independently. These modular units can be deployed incrementally across different locations, with each unit managing its own operations while contributing to the global energy portfolio, thereby reducing overall system management complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where ammonia production, storage levels, and distribution rates are continuously monitored and adjusted based on renewable energy generation patterns and consumption demands, enabling dynamic optimization of this complex multi-component system.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system generates sufficient renewable energy to meet global demands, converts it into stable energy carriers, and supplies it to various facilities, contributing to carbon-free energy infrastructure and reducing global warming by adhering to the Paris Agreement goals.
Implementation Method 1
a front surface of the regular hexagon is formed by a light-receiving surface of a photovoltaic panel
Implementation Method 2
an electrolysis device that decomposes water using power output from the power generation plant
Implementation Method 3
an ammonia synthesis device that synthesizes ammonia using hydrogen generated by the electrolysis device
Data Source
AI summary
A carbon-free energy supply system generates hydrogen from electricity generated by a floating offshore photovoltaic power generation plant, synthesizes energy carriers using the hydrogen as a raw material, stores the energy carriers, converts the energy carriers into a predetermined energy form to supply the energy to each of the supply destination facilities. The floating offshore plant is composed of multiple photovoltaic panels, each of which is substantially hexagonal in plan view, by connecting the photovoltaic panels in a honeycomb structure in plan view. Each photovoltaic panel functions as a floating body, panel housings of the adjacent photovoltaic panels are capable of swinging relative to each other in a vertical direction, and each photovoltaic panel can be submerged and floated to a predetermined depth by pouring water into and draining water from the panel housing.