I Thought It Was Just a Water Toy for the Rich... But It Saves the Earth? [Tech Talk]

Power Generation Vessel Equipped with Hydrofoil (Underwater Wing)
Could Become a New Energy Source Utilizing Energy Efficiency

On the 4th of last month (local time), Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, attracted attention by releasing a video of himself surfing while holding an American flag. The surfboard that CEO Zuckerberg enjoys riding is a hydrofoil board, which has wings under the board that cut through the water, allowing it to glide above the surface as if levitating.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, riding a hydrofoil surfboard. [Image source=Instagram capture]

Surfboards equipped with hydrofoils minimize resistance with water, thereby increasing speed. This design is mainly used on luxury superyachts, racing yachts, and boards, and CEO Zuckerberg is also well known as a hydrofoil board enthusiast.

However, hydrofoils, once thought to be just toys for the wealthy, might actually be a 'game changer' that could save the planet. Recently, a clean energy company utilizing hydrofoils has emerged and is gaining attention.

Moving Dozens of Tons of Metal with Just a Sail and a Mini Turbine... The Secret is Hydrofoils

Hydrofoils are mainly used in yachts, boards, and similar equipment. The photo shows the operation of a racing yacht. [Image source=YouTube capture]

The company in the spotlight is a startup called Drift Energy, founded in 2021. Despite being a new company, it has already attracted attention by receiving innovation funding from the UK government and investment from the venture division of Octopus Energy, the world's largest renewable energy company.

This company builds 15-ton yachts equipped with hydrofoils. The yacht is designed in a catamaran style, which allows for a larger surface area relative to displacement, and it gains power from a mast-mounted sail and a small turbine at the stern. Solar panels are also installed on the hull’s center to generate additional electricity.

Hydrofoils are attached to the bottom of the yacht’s hull. Thanks to this, an object weighing dozens of tons can move agilely on the sea with minimal power. In fact, the kinetic energy obtained from solar, wind, and tidal power exceeds the energy consumed for movement. In other words, it is a generator that continuously moves on the sea.

Using artificial intelligence (AI) to track the windiest areas in the sea.
[Image source=Drift Energy homepage]

The power generated by the yacht is stored in the form of hydrogen in container-type devices. The yacht uses artificial intelligence (AI) to constantly seek out locations with the most abundant waves, wind, and sunlight, and when the hydrogen storage is full, it automatically returns to a nearby port to unload the containers. Drift Energy plans to commercialize hydrogen fuel using this method someday.

Potential Game Changer Overcoming Wind Turbine Drawbacks

Drift Energy’s concept?“a power source that floats and moves on the sea”?is much more cost-effective than wind power generation. Wind turbines generally have higher efficiency when installed closer to the sea because the sea has fewer obstacles than land, resulting in stronger and more consistent winds.

However, installing turbines fixed on monopiles in the sea is a very challenging task. The farther the distance between land and the power plant, the longer the transmission lines, which increases costs. This is why most wind turbines today are installed on land or in very shallow waters.

A hydrofoil wind power fishing yacht designed by Drift Energy. [Image source=Drift Energy homepage]

However, energy harvesting using hydrofoil vessels does not require such infrastructure costs and can fully harness the much richer winds at sea compared to land. Additionally, because hydrofoil vessels require very little energy to move, they can always travel to areas with stronger winds. A critical drawback of wind farms is that daily wind strength and frequency are unpredictable, leading to unstable power generation.

Most importantly, it is encouraging that hydrofoil technology, which was once only a hobbyist’s domain, can finally be applied in the industrial sector. Hydrofoils were invented in the mid-19th century and were once expected to enhance human navigation technology, but their applications were limited. Hydrofoil-equipped vessels are structurally unstable and can only navigate calm seas, and the cargo weight they can carry at one time is limited.

Until now, hydrofoils have only been seen in extreme sports or luxury yachts. For example, in the world’s largest racing yacht competition, the Americas Cup, yachts equipped with various unusual hydrofoils are commonly found. All these designs aim to maximize yacht speed while minimizing the required energy.

Perhaps, after more than 150 years since their invention, hydrofoils may finally prove their true worth.