Demand for electricity is rising in Canada but many remote and coastal communities throughout the country remain not easily served by major transmission systems and consequently rely on diesel generation for dependable power.
Yet a 2008 study suggested that the amount of energy which can be captured from waves, tides, and river currents is enough to power millions of homes.
A Vancouver startup by the name of Swordfish Energy says it is developing hydro-kinetic generation for micro-grid applications where reliability is a primary requirement.
The B.C. company’s Compeller concept is designed to produce electricity from river and tidal currents, with the goal of supporting renewable, always-available power in environments where extending transmission lines is costly, slow, or impractical.
Swordfish’s Compeller is being developed as a laminar-flow system intended to reduce turbulence compared with conventional approaches and as a direct-drive configuration that avoids gearbox complexity.
The Canadian upstart, which views hydro-kinetic power as complementary to solar and wind off-grid, says these design choices are intended to improve durability and serviceability in marine environments, where maintenance access and operating conditions can be challenging.
“Communities should have practical options to reduce diesel use without compromising reliability,” explains Dorn Beattie, chief executive officer of Swordfish Energy. “Our focus is on hydro-kinetic power that can be integrated into real-world micro-grids and operated consistently in local conditions.”
Regions such as Haida Gwaii, where parts of the local electricity system are isolated from the main grid, have long depended on diesel. These are the areas that Swordfish is aiming to transform with cleantech.
In 2022, Swordfish was selected for the Ocean Startup Challenge. Following that, the firm battle-tested its product at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, Scotland.
The company is a graduate of the Centre for Ocean Applied Sustainable Technologies’ inaugural Blue Action Canada cohort and The Compeller been nominated for Prince William and David Attenborough’s Earth Shot Prize.
Founded on Vancouver Island in 2018, Swordfish was last year named to Douglas magazine’s “10 to Watch.”