WAVR

A challenge for many small energy harvesters such as those found in micro wind turbines and water wave harvesters, is that very often the speed of the drive shaft is too low to generate much current in the copper windings. A gear box can be employed to increase the shaft speed to the alternator, but this increases startup torque requirements to impracticable levels, and also adds mechanical complexity typically unaffordable in low power energy harvesting applications. Taking advantage of gravity, the Prime Movr generator represents a new paradigm to generate electricity from applications like slow-turning wind or water turbines.

Using a new alternator design which introduces a radial degree-of-freedom for the moving magnetic field, the Prime Movr can convert kinetic energy to electricity more effectively at low speeds without the complexity or the mechanical losses imposed by a gear box. Prime Movr’s rotational axis is oriented orthogonally to the gravitational field, and as the magnet is lifted by the rotor’s rotation it rolls down its track creating a moving magnetic field with higher velocity than the rotational velocity of the rotor. Compared to a traditional alternator, it is this faster radially moving magnet in the Prime Movr that induces more current in the adjacent coil. This extra degree of freedom is the key to unlocking the potential of low and variable speed mechanical power conversion such as wave motion and other low flow water and wind currents.