Harnessing tidal energy to foster a more sustainable power grid
Annika Ölme, Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President, Technology Development at SKF, discusses the "next space race" and how innovative technologies are already creating opportunities to harness endless energy from the moon's gravitational pull — right here on Earth.
1. The idea: What is the Faroe Islands Space Program?
Ölme: The Faroe Islands is a small island nation between Scotland and Iceland in the Northeast Atlantic. There, together with our customer Minesto, we've built a space program unlike any other in the world.
The Faroe Islands Space Program competes with global superpowers to harness lunar resources — without ever leaving Earth.
Tidal energy, generated by the moon's gravitational pull, offers a renewable and predictable power source.
This untapped natural resource holds tremendous potential to support a more sustainable energy future.
2. How it's done: How are you harnessing energy from the moon?
Ölme: As the Moon's gravity pulls on the Earth and its oceans, it creates tidal streams. These powerful flows of water generate immense energy.
Through innovative technologies and partnerships, we've supported the development of a way to harness this energy — LUNA 12.
LUNA 12 transforms the concept of kites.
Rather than soaring through the air, it glides through the ocean at speeds up to 16 knots at a depth of ~ 60 meters, driving water through a turbine to generate energy.
The wing uses the hydrodynamic lift force created by the underwater current to move the kite.
With an onboard control system, the kite is autonomously steered in a predetermined figure-of-eight trajectory, pulling the turbine through the water at a water flow several times higher than the actual stream speed.
The turbine shaft turns the generator which outputs electricity to the grid via a power cable in the tether and a seabed umbilical to the shore.
3. The background: Who's behind this innovation?
Ölme: The Faroe Islands Space Program is a collaboration between SKF, Minesto, and the Faroe Islands.
SKF is the world's largest bearing manufacturer with a commitment to improving energy efficiency and reducing CO2emissions. Minesto is an ocean energy technology developer.
The Faroe Islands, along with the inter-municipal community power company SEV, has one of the world's most ambitious energy transition initiatives, aiming to reach 100% renewable electricity by 2030.
SKF designed the bearing and sealing systems for the rudders and elevators of the kites, and we collaborated closely with Minesto to optimize the LUNA 12 kite for demanding operational environments.
The result is a cost-competitive tidal energy technology poised for large-scale deployment.
The initiative underscores the critical role of cross-industry collaboration and knowledge-sharing in accelerating innovation, advancing the shift to renewables and shaping a more sustainable energy future.
The Faroe Islands Space Program serves as a blueprint for broader cooperation across sectors.
4. The impact: What's the long-term potential here?
Ölme: The Faroe Islands, with its strong political will, unique ocean conditions, and supportive infrastructure, provide an ideal setting to test and scale this groundbreaking technology.
Today, LUNA 12 is connected to the Faroese power grid, but as the project is in its pilot phase, electricity production is still in humble volumes.
LUNA 12 is the first megawatt-scale kite in operation, delivering a tenfold increase in capacity compared to earlier models.
With a rated power of 1.2 megawatts, it could supply enough electricity to power around 200 homes for a full year once fully operational.
The next goal is to implement a new 200 MW tidal energy facility.
This could meet 40% of the Faroe Islands' expected electricity needs in 2030, providing renewable electricity to the nation's 50,000 people and 70,000 sheep.
Today, ocean energy is still a small part of the renewable energy mix. But we've identified at least 3,000 other "Faroe Islands" out there with the potential to harness this technology to generate renewable energy.
If they were all to join, moon power could replace all coal power capacity currently under development globally.
5. Looking ahead: What's next for this project and SKF's future innovations?
This is just one example of how SKF works with customers to advance new approaches and innovations in energy technology development and across other sectors.
We recognize the powerful role we can play in reducing friction in projects and applications worldwide.
Anywhere bearings are used, there's an opportunity to enhance efficiency and reduce friction, and we're proud of our innovations across the globe — and beyond — in making that a reality.
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