UTNBA was granted the patent for the Wave Energy Project

After eight years, the School was granted the patent for the Wave Energy Harnessing Project which will allow it to share the knowledge developed and the idea without running the risk of being plagiarized.

“The process began in 2011 and took so much time because the institution in charge of the registration had to make sure that there were not any other similar or superior inventions at a national level. This achievement, apart from protection against plagiarism, allows us to spread the idea with ease”, stated Eng. Alejandro Haim, UTNBA faculty member and Director of the Laboratory of Solar Energy Studies (LESES in Spanish).

Haim explained that the Project originated in 2009: “I was in the sea on my surfboard and I wanted to implement it as a thesis project but my fellows did not agree”.

Later, the Research Group of the Wave Energy Harnessing Project proposal started working on it. “Later we decided to start the patenting process with the help of the University. Although I am the inventor together with Mario, the patent is under the School’s name.”

Wave energy is produced by means of a device that uses the sea waves to convert them into electricity to supply power to docks, entire cities, etcetera.

“In the rest of the world there are more than a thousand patents, but few could be implemented. Most of the equipment in operation are in Spain, Portugal, United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Denmark, Germany and China. But ours is different from the rest,” the LESES’ Director explained.

“We wanted to do something cost-effective –he added– that could be manufactured in Argentina, with local raw material and labor. This does not occur with other renewable energies because all the equipment is imported.”