Ocean Power Tech, US security dept join hands on PowerBuoy tests

(SeeNews) – Sep 4, 2012 - US Ocean Power Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:OPTT), or OPT, said today it had agreed with the US Department of Homeland Security to conduct in-ocean tests of its Autonomous PowerBuoy device in an ocean surveillance application.

Under the terms of the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), the DHS’s Science and Technology Directorate and its Borders and Maritime Security Division together with OPT will study the effectiveness of the device in maritime vessel detection for extended periods of time. Under the plan, an APB-350 Autonomous PowerBuoy will be deployed off New Jersey's coast.

OPT has also received a USD-75,000 (EUR 60,000) grant from the Maryland Technology Development Corp (MTDC) to demonstrate whether the Autonomous PowerBuoy can be used with different surveillance technologies.

The Autonomous PowerBuoy is a device designed to generate power for offshore applications, including oil and gas exploration and production, fish-farming and security and maritime monitoring. Earlier this year, OPT said that an initial round of tests had shown the device supplied continuous power of over 400 W throughout the entire deployment, producing peak sustained electrical power of 1,500 W.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.794)

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