A University of Michigan spinoff company is set to start testing its cylindrical hydrokinetic electricity device in the St. Clair River.
Ann Arbor-based Vortex Hydro Energy said this afternoon that it would launch its VIVACE device in the river for a three-month trial period starting in spring 2011.
The company, which has been prepping the device for testing for more than two years, hopes the device will eventually offer a reliable source of renewable energy generated through water currents.
"This converter is unlike water turbines as it does not use propellers," the company said in a statement today. "VIVACE uses the physical phenomenon of vortex induced vibration, in which water current flows around cylinders inducing transverse motion. The energy generated the movement of the cylinder is then converted to electricity."
Manufacturing firm Dunn Paper is providing facilities and access to the river, officials said.
Contact AnnArbor.com's Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com. You can also follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's newsletters.
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