When you mention a hybrid vehicle, most of us would know that it will have a petrol-powered engine, in addition to a battery that more often than not recharges itself using regenerative braking, allowing it to go a whole lot further than a standard vehicle would. How about a hybrid that floats around on the seas? British industrial designer Phil Pauley has come up with the Marine Solar Cells which is capable of harnessing energy from both the sun as well as the sea water which it floats on. This is made possible thanks to a web of energy generators which enables it to capture energy off-shore, thanks to a clever combination of floating photovoltaics as well as natural buoyancy displacement.
The reflective nature of water enables the solar component’s efficiency to be increased by another 20% or so compared to having it remain stationary on land. Interestingly enough, the Marine Solar Cells can be manufactured through the use of recycled materials, and thanks to having it attached to underwater mooring, it is capable of being placed just about anywhere off-shore, resulting in subsea batteries or power plants. Currently this technology is in its conceptual stage, but hopefully it will be able to make it to the market sooner rather than later.
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