New-Tech Europe Magazine | Q3 2021 | Digital Edition

conversion needs in real time. “The ability to convert a very nasty power profile into a cost-effective, practical solution, and then condition that power and turn it into usable energy for a wide range of mobile and static payloads, is really on the leading edge,” said C-Power CEO Reenst Lesemann. “There’s nobody else that’s been able to do that yet.” The scalable power design of the SeaRAY uses Vicor BCM® fixed-ratio bus converters and PRM™ regulator modules with complex multistage discrete converters to efficiently convert turbulent, unpredictable wave energy and provide controlled power. This enabled C-Power to increase the SeaRAY design’s conversion efficiency from about 50 percent to a range of 85 to 94 percent. The use of stable, wide-input Vicor DC-DC converters provided C-Power much-needed control as the SeaRAY converts pulsed ocean wave power into a varying DC bus while still producing a constant current at various power levels. In addition, the power conversion topologies used in Vicor modules help to minimize electromagnetic interference and noise onboard the SeaRAY that could otherwise compromise sensor measurement accuracy. “There are plenty of companies trying to capture and convert wave energy, but it’s another thing to do something in a small, compact form factor and still satisfy what customers need from an operational and logistics perspective,” Lesemann said. “That’s where we, with Vicor’s assistance, have been able to stick our chins out so much further than everyone else.” Learn more about SeaRay and wave power.

Figure 3: SeaRAY uses the Vicor BCM ® fixed-ratio bus converter and PRM™ regulator modules with complex multistage discrete converters to efficiently convert wave energy and provide controlled power. Using power modules Vicor developed a power delivery network that improved the SeaRAY conversion efficiency from 50% to over 90%.

About C-Power Columbia Power Technologies, Inc. (C-Power) delivers the products the marine economy needs to change the ocean from a power desert into a power- and data-enriched environment. As a worldwide leader in wave energy systems, C-Power is developing reliable, sustainable, cost-effective energy generation and storage solutions that are easy to transport and deployable anywhere in the world for a wide range of applications benefitting critical industries such as offshore energy, defense and security, aquaculture, science and research, and communications. Based in Charlottesville, Virginia, with product development in Corvallis, Oregon, the C-Power team brings more than 150 years of

successful management, operating and engineering experience. Learn more at cpower.co. About Vicor Vicor Corporation, the leader in high- performance power modules, solves the toughest power challenges for our customers, enabling them to innovate and maximize system performance. Our easy-to-deploy power modules provide the highest density and efficiency enabling advanced power delivery networks from the power source to the point-of-load. Headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, Vicor serves customers worldwide with unequaled power conversion and power delivery technologies. www. vicorpower.com

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