Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. Announces APB350 (A1) PowerBuoy Achieves Significant Performance Milestones
21 January 2016 - 2:56AM
Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:OPTT) today
announced that its APB350 (A1) PowerBuoy® has achieved several
significant milestones. Total cumulative deployment time has
exceeded 125 days and energy generated has surpassed 1,000 kWh
(1MWh). In addition, a new maximum generation record of 32
kWh of energy for a 24-hour period was achieved. The APB350
A1, deployed off of the coast of New Jersey, has communicated key
performance as well as meteorological data from the buoy's
integrated weather station.
George H. Kirby, President and Chief Executive
Officer of OPT, stated, "We continue to be very excited by the A1's
overall performance, specifically its power generation in extreme
ocean conditions. The A1 results are significant as it
continues to confirm design robustness and demonstrates measurable
progress toward commercial readiness on three key focus areas: the
PTO; the survivability of the PowerBuoy system during high sea
states; and the linear seal, which prevents water from entering the
buoy."
Dr. Mike M. Mekhiche, OPT's Vice President of
Engineering, stated, "In addition, the A1 has provided critical
design, performance, and in-ocean operating data. The new
24-hour energy record is 3.8 times its nameplate daily rating of
8.4 kWh, which is a 14% improvement over the previously reported
record.”
Dr. Mekhiche continued, “The A1 also demonstrated
its ability to generate sufficient power at very low sea states,
which is further confirmation of the PTO efficiency improvements as
compared to the original design. These improvements expand
the buoy's mission persistence and endurance capabilities in terms
of providing required power to its payload over longer “zero wave”
periods. This persistence is critical for a variety of
autonomous offshore power markets of interest.”
OPT also announced that it will retrieve the A1 for
necessary inspection, repairs and maintenance. The PowerBuoy
has been deployed since October, and it will be redeployed at the
earliest available weather window. Upon redeployment, sea
trials of the A1 will continue off the coast of New Jersey to
further validate the buoy reliability and survivability with
periodic inspections as needed.
Dr. Mekhiche stated, “Further progress was also
made on the ALT testing, which continues to validate the PTO design
and generate important data on its reliability and life. The
ALT process consists of operating PTOs in tandem with accelerated
operating profiles, which subjects the PTOs to various load
conditions encountered in extreme sea states. The objective
of the test is to simulate an equivalent three-year ocean
deployment during a period of approximately nine months using PTOs
that are identical to those of the A1. The ball screw PTO has
traveled the equivalent of approximately 1,200 km so far,
corresponding to approximately 1.8 million strokes, without any
mission critical issues. The PTO ALT, which is currently
operating 24/7, has already exceeded the deployed A1 PTO in terms
of strokes and total distance traveled by the PTO.
Mr. Kirby concluded, "We continue to believe that
the combination of sea trials, ALT, and feedback from the Technical
Advisory Panel are helping us shorten our product's validation and
market introduction time. We are receiving significant
commercial interest resulting from the positive sea trials and ALT
results, which supports our goal of 2016 commercialization.”
About Ocean Power Technologies
Headquartered in Pennington, New Jersey, Ocean
Power Technologies (Nasdaq:OPTT) is a pioneer in renewable
wave-energy technology that converts ocean wave energy into
electricity. OPT's proprietary PowerBuoy® technology is based on a
modular design and has undergone periodic ocean testing since 1997.
OPT specializes in cost-effective and environmentally sound ocean
wave based power generation and management technology.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain "forward-looking
statements" that are within the safe harbor provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements are identified by certain words or phrases such as
"may", "will", "aim", "will likely result", "believe", "expect",
"will continue", "anticipate", "estimate", "intend", "plan",
"contemplate", "seek to", "future", "objective", "goal", "project",
"should", "will pursue" and similar expressions or variations of
such expressions. These forward-looking statements reflect the
Company's current expectations about its future plans and
performance. These forward-looking statements rely on a number of
assumptions and estimates which could be inaccurate and which are
subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could vary
materially from those anticipated or expressed in any
forward-looking statement made by the Company. Please refer to the
Company's most recent Forms 10-Q and 10-K and subsequent filings
with the SEC for a further discussion of these risks and
uncertainties. The Company disclaims any obligation or intent to
update the forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or
circumstances after the date of this release.
Company Contact:
Mark A. Featherstone,
Chief Financial Officer of OPT
Phone:
609-730-0400
Investor Relations Contact:
Andrew Barwicki
Phone:
516-662-9461
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