Explore the blue ocean thermal management technology of energy storage

Can ocean thermal energy solve the problem of unmanned underwater vehicles?

The other types of UUVs are at the , with many issues to be solved. Ocean thermal energy offers the possibility to solve the contradiction between long-term and high-frequency observation and finite power of unmanned underwater vehicles. There are very limited reviews on unmanned underwater vehicles powered by ocean thermal energy.

What is ocean thermal energy?

Ocean thermal energy is renewable energy stored in the form of the temperature gradient between the warm surface water and the cold deep water of the ocean . The surface of the seawater could collect heat from the sunlight, but only about 1% of the energy can reach waters below 10 m.

What is ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC)?

Ocean surface temperature . Currently, the most common approach to obtain ocean thermal energy is the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC). It is a classic technology proposed by d'Aronval in 1881 . This technology is a closed-cycle OTEC because the working fluid adopted flows in a closed-loop.

What is Ocean Energy?

Ocean energy (tidal energy, wave energy, current energy, ocean thermal energy, salinity energy) and other energy (wind energy, solar energy on the surface of the ocean, etc.) are renewable energy sources with huge energy storage .

How reliable are ocean thermal UUVs for ocean thermal energy harvesting?

The other three technologies applied to UUVs for ocean thermal energy harvesting are more reliable and require fewer intermediate conversion steps, thus reducing the probability of failure. At present, these three ocean thermal UUVs have not been successfully engineered. They are only in the conceptual design stage.

Can PCM-based thermal energy harvesting technology be used in ocean thermal UUVs?

Besides, their technical characteristics, challenges, and future trends are described as well. Through literature research, it is found that PCM-based thermal energy harvesting technology remains the most promising application in ocean thermal UUVs.