Ocean Power Technologies Inc (NYSE-A:OPTT) this week announced the deployment of their next-generation PowerBuoy system for the Naval Postgraduate School.
CEO Philipp Stratmann joined Proactive to discuss the milestone.
Proactive: Significant news out from the company today, talking about your PowerBuoy system for the Naval Postgraduate School. You've announced now that you are deploying it finally. So, obviously a significant milestone for the company.
Philipp Stratmann: Yeah, very excited about this one. I think our shareholders and customers will know that we’ve been talking about this deployment off the coast of California for quite a while. The next generation of our systems, which are fully and commercially available now, is being prepared at our facility as we speak. It will be moved to California and should be in the water early in 2025. Having this system out there for a long period will really help demonstrate the ability and versatility of the PowerBuoys to support a variety of solutions.
Maybe talk to everyone a little bit about the renewable power part of it and 5G. There are a lot of features in this buoy that make it very interesting.
This is the next generation of our system. It uses solar and small wind turbines to function even in areas with little wave activity. The same system, if deployed in an area with more wave activity, can have a wave energy cartridge added, allowing for three sources of renewable power. This energy can fuel various payloads. In this deployment, it will power AT&T's 5G solution, demonstrating how renewable power can be used in areas without access to power. It will enable a communication network offshore, which is exciting since there is currently no 5G available in such areas. This deployment will show how 5G can be applied in all sorts of offshore scenarios, enabling high-bandwidth communications.
You’ve also discussed the buoy's ability to provide maritime domain awareness. Can it help track drones, like in the recent East Coast drone story?
Yes, we’ve been talking about our maritime domain awareness solution, which includes electronic detection, cameras, and radar systems. Recently, we demonstrated the integration of ADS-B, which tracks aircraft signals. Using radar and cameras angled slightly upward, we can monitor drone movements, determine their origin, and verify whether they are authorized.
In a world increasingly relying on autonomous systems, we need technologies that can monitor what’s coming over our shores, beaches, and critical infrastructure.
Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity and style