Ocean Power Technologies Announces the Deployment of Its PB3 PowerBuoy with Integrated Payload from National Data Buoy Center

Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. announced today that it has re-deployed the PB3-A1 PowerBuoy® (“PB3 PowerBuoy” or “PB3-A1”) off the coast of New Jersey after completion of necessary  repairs and maintenance actions, and the integration of the National Data Buoy Center (“NDBC”) Self-Contained Ocean Observing Payload (“SCOOP”). The deployment of SCOOP is part of the previously announced Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (“CRADA”) between OPT and NDBC.  SCOOP collects site-specific data on meteorological and ocean conditions and is powered by the PB3 PowerBuoy.

George H. Kirby, President and Chief Executive Officer of OPT, stated, “The deployment of the PB3 PowerBuoy with SCOOP is an important step forward in OPT’s commercialization efforts in the ocean observing sector.  This deployment is the first time SCOOP has been powered with a persistent power source rather than relying solely on its own internal battery capacity. The SCOOP is expected to provide NDBC with high quality metocean data, and the data gathered during this deployment will also assist OPT and NDBC in site selection for the next phase of the CRADA. We anticipate the next phase will be a northern latitude deployment where persistent power, reliability and survivability have presented challenges for NDBC operations.”

Dr. Mike M. Mekhiche, OPT's Vice President of Engineering, stated, “The SCOOP payload integration was completed successfully by OPT in accordance with NDBC’s requirements.  PB3 PowerBuoy operating data is transmitted to OPT’s main control center, located in Pennington, New Jersey.  SCOOP data, which is also accessible from OPT’s control center, is transmitted to NDBC for integration into their ocean observing system platform, which is used by industry, government, and academia.  We intend to use the PB3-A1 performance data to assess the persistent power capabilities that the PB3-A1 may be able to provide, which we believe may help NDBC overcome some of the challenges it experiences in some ocean locations.”