Episode 38: The Biradial Turbine

The biradial turbine, patented in 2011, put Técnico at the forefront of world research in the area of wave energy, but its genesis dates back to 1974. It all begins with “a 40 years old man called Agnelo David, a trader in Almeirim, and inventor in his free time, who arrived at Técnico”. He didn’t have any technical or scientific background, but he had an idea in mind: the ocean and sea waves contained a lot of energy and maybe it was possible to take advantage of it. Some years later, a research group was created at Técnico, which would become one of the most competitive research groups at international level. The research group was involved in the construction of the world’s first wave power plant, which operated from 1999 to 2018, on the island of Pico. At the origin of more than 40 years of research in this field is an incredible story of ideas that  are (also) born outside of academia.

  • Acknowledgements:
    António Falcão
    Luís Gato
    João Henriques
    Departamento de Engenharia Mecânica do Instituto Superior Técnico

Episode only available in Portuguese in: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Anchor.fm

Further reading and additional audio in the Portuguese version of this webpage.

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