ALBUQUERQUE, NM, USA, September 18, 2014 /EINPresswire.com/ -- During their tour of Sandia National Laboratories on August 25, Atmocean, Inc. CEO Philip Kithil briefed Senators Tom Udall (D-NM) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) on how Sandia’s technical support was key to developing and analyzing the Atmocean wave energy system.

The involvement of Atmocean with Sandia National Laboratories took place in 2010, 2012, and 2013, and covered various technical elements of the Atmocean system, including effects of ocean upwelling, array output of pressurized seawater as a function of wave inputs, and mooring system forces. In total, the grants received by Atmocean totaled $100,000 in technical support under Sandia’s NMSBA grant program. To qualify, Atmocean raised an identical amount in matching funds from Atmocean angel investors.

According to Atmocean CEO Phil Kithil “Sandia’s support accelerated our development and led to new jobs as well as justified substantial additional funding from our angel investors. Combined with our 59 days of ocean testing since 2006, and six days of testing at the Plymouth University (UK) state-of-the-art wave tank, Sandia’s efforts have put us in the forefront of the global wave energy industry, and positioned us to deploy the world’s first full-scale commercial wave energy array near Lima, Peru in Spring 2015.”

To fund this first-ever array deployment, Kithil says the company is raising $750,000 from accredited investors and with a crowdfunding campaign on www.CrowdfundAtmocean.com, with over $200,000 already received or committed.

Peru’s coastline is ideal for the Atmocean technology as the waves hitting the coast are relatively constant, traveling thousands of miles across the South Pacific from the Southern Ocean near Antarctica.


The Atmocean wave energy system is unique in that each array of fifteen seawater pumps located 2 miles offshore produces pressurized water transmitted in a seafloor hose to the onshore turbine operating a generator. This design is very low cost - about $500,000 per megawatt of rated capacity - and thus is economic even without government subsidies, delivering electricity for about 6 cents per kilo-Watt-hour (kWh).

In addition to producing clean, renewable electricity from ocean waves, the pumped seawater can be filtered to remove plastic debris which is now understood to be a major source of pollution in the world’s oceans. Other end products of the Atmocean wave energy system include fresh water from desalination, and ice for commercial fishing.

Once the first system is operating, Atmocean and its Peru manufacturing partner Tecnolog S.A. intend to double the number of new systems each year, reaching up to 1 gigawatt of installed capacity by 2025, providing up to 5% of Peru’s electricity from clean, renewable ocean wave energy. Peru, whose economy is growing at 5 percent per year with low inflation, needs more renewable energy to lessen the impact of fossil fuel mining in its Amazon rainforest. Other benefits for Atmocean from starting in Peru include expedited permitting, and low costs of manufacturing and operations. According to Chris White, Project Manager for Atmocean in Peru, "With this final effort, we're see a real chance for Atmocean to act as a catalyst for the implementation of wave energy on a global scale".

For more information please contact Atmocean CEO Philip W. Kithil at atmocean.kithil@gmail.com; Project Manager Chris White at atmocean.white@gmail.com; visit www.atmocean.com; or view the Atmocean crowdfunding campaign at www.CrowdfundAtmocean.com.

Philip Kithil
Atmocean Inc
505-310-2294
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