“Brevetti+” for Gemstar patent enhancement

“Brevetti+” is a financing program promoted by the Ministry of Economic Development and managed by Invitalia. It provides non-refundable financing aimed at the purchase of specialized services for the economic enhancement of a patent in terms of profitability, productivity, and market development.

The project receiving funding is centered on the enhancement of GEMSTAR patent. It is an innovative system which has been developed by the group for more than 15 years. It converts the kinetic energy of water flows into electrical energy, which is optimized for the exploitation of tidal currents (patent n. 102018000008669, granted in Italy on the 26th of October 2020).

Thanks to Brevetti+, some specialized services have been financed. The aim of these services consisted in filling some technical/technological gaps, in raising the level of technological maturity of GEMSTAR (click “gemstar.it”) and, in defining specific technological choices for a 300-kW prototype with the intention of installing and testing it at sea in order to complete the development of such technology.

The selected specialized services aim at the optimization and identification of the most suitable technical/technological solutions for the following subsystems:

• Anchorage to the seabed
• Generator crankcase seals
• Materials and coupling configurations between mooring cable and electrical cable
• Electrical system and control software of power and safety systems

Finally, two systems concern the product certification and technical-economic due-diligence of the system.