IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v273y2026ics0960148126009195.html

Energy harvesting and motion reduction using linear generators on small ships

Author

Listed:
  • Nielsen, Ulrik D.
  • Bingham, Harry B.
  • Read, Robert W.

Abstract

In this study, we assess the potential for generating power from the wave-induced motions of a ship by using a linear generator to convert the ship’s reciprocating motion into electrical energy. Rather than focusing on the numerous practical details, this preliminary study uses simulations to investigate the overall potential of the concept, and we present a simplified yet physically consistent assessment framework that explicitly accounts for the dynamic coupling between ship motions and the generator’s seismic mass. The numerical investigations are focused on boats of lengths 8–10 m, where the relatively large seismic mass in the generator leads to strong coupling between the wave-induced boat motions and the (relative) motion of the seismic mass. We show that for a weight ratio, seismic mass to boat mass, of around 10%, auxiliary power generation up to 3-5 kW appears realistic for sailing in modest sea states with wave heights of 1–1.5 m. In addition, energy extraction from the wave-ship system can lead to considerable reduction of the boat’s motion, up to about 25% considering the vertical motion in the bow region. This, in turn, reduces the added resistance in waves by up to 15% for the studied cases.

Suggested Citation

  • Nielsen, Ulrik D. & Bingham, Harry B. & Read, Robert W., 2026. "Energy harvesting and motion reduction using linear generators on small ships," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 273(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:273:y:2026:i:c:s0960148126009195
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2026.126093
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148126009195
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2026.126093?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:273:y:2026:i:c:s0960148126009195. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.