Driven by the global “dual carbon” goals, tidal power generation, as a clean and renewable blue energy, has become a key direction for marine energy development due to its predictable and zero-pollution advantages. However, tidal generators operate in deep-sea environments for a long time, facing extreme challenges such as high pressure, high corrosion, and water flow impact. The reliability of their core connection components directly determines the operational stability and power generation efficiency of the units. Ankeno’s independently developed 03D Deep-Sea Metal Series Components precisely solve this industry pain point, providing a highly adaptable and reliable connection solution for tidal power generation projects.

The core principle of tidal power generation is to use the potential or kinetic energy of rising and falling seawater to drive water turbines, which in turn drive generators to produce electricity. Most of these units are installed in bays or estuaries with large tidal ranges and rapid water flow, and are long-term immersed in high-salinity seawater. They need to withstand huge water pressure and continuous water flow impact, while realizing stable transmission of power and signals. This puts extremely high requirements on the sealing, corrosion resistance, pressure resistance and transmission performance of connectors. Ordinary connectors are prone to seal failure, corrosion damage, signal attenuation and other problems, which not only affect power generation efficiency, but also increase underwater operation and maintenance costs, and even lead to unit shutdown failures.

Targeting the application pain points of tidal generators, Ankeno, deeply engaged in the field of high-end precision connectors, has independently developed the 03D Deep-Sea Metal Series Components. As an optoelectronic hybrid deep-sea watertight connector, it has become the core adaptive component for tidal generators. The core advantage of this component is its ability to reliably transmit power signals and high-speed optical signals simultaneously in the extreme marine environment of deep-sea high pressure and high corrosion, taking into account both sealing performance and transmission efficiency, ensuring long-term stable operation of equipment, and perfectly matching the full-scenario underwater working needs of tidal generators.

In terms of product performance, the 03D Deep-Sea Metal Series Components have been optimized and designed in a targeted manner to fully meet the working requirements of tidal generators. Its contact pin count ranges from 4 to 19 cores, which can be flexibly adapted according to the power needs of tidal generators. The maximum single-core current-carrying capacity can reach 25A, and the contact resistance is ≤10mΩ, which can efficiently transmit the power generated during power generation and reduce energy loss. In terms of optical signal transmission, the conventional insertion loss is as low as 1.2dB (1310nm) and 1.0dB (1550nm), and the low-loss version can be reduced to 0.35dB and 0.25dB, ensuring the high-speed transmission of unit operation parameters, fault signals, etc., and providing accurate data support for remote monitoring and operation and maintenance.

To cope with the extreme deep-sea environment, the component has been specially designed in materials and structure. The shell is made of conventional 316L stainless steel, and can be customized with TC4 titanium alloy material, combined with 316L stainless steel sealed end cover, which has extremely strong seawater corrosion resistance and can effectively resist long-term erosion of high-salinity seawater. The optical contacts are made of zirconia ceramic ferrules, and the electrical contacts are made of gold-plated brass, which takes into account wear resistance and electrical conductivity. The mechanical life can reach more than 1000 times, meeting the plug-in needs of long-term operation and maintenance of tidal generators. At the same time, its conventional factory test transverse pressure reaches 45MPa, and the maximum can be customized to 70MPa, which can adapt to underwater installation scenarios of different depths. The working temperature ranges from -45℃ to 90℃, which can cope with temperature fluctuations in the marine environment and ensure that the sealing performance does not fail.

At present, Ankeno 03D Deep-Sea Metal Series Components have been widely used in multiple tidal power generation projects. Whether it is a bottom-mounted tidal current turbine generator or a platform-based tidal power generation unit, this component can stably play a connecting role, effectively reducing the unit failure rate and underwater operation and maintenance costs. Practice has proved that the application of this component not only improves the operational stability and power generation efficiency of tidal generators, but also promotes the large-scale application of tidal power generation technology, providing a reliable connection guarantee for blue energy development.

In the future, Ankeno will continue to deepen its efforts in the field of deep-sea watertight connectors, rely on the advantage of customized R&D, continuously optimize the performance of the 03D Deep-Sea Metal Series Components, adapt to more specifications of tidal generators, help the high-quality development of the global tidal power generation industry, and inject blue power into the realization of the “dual carbon” goals.