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The oceans contain nearly unimaginable amount of power. Engineers have long dreamed of transforming some of it into electricity. Complex past concepts have ranged from “tide farms” that include hundreds of rising floats moored to the ocean bottom to huge hydro-electric dams blocking off harbors. Now, a startup in Alaska has a new personal hydrogenerator design so simple it is 3D-printable.

The Juneau-based startup is called Sitkana. It’s named after a snail native to Alaska with a shell reminiscent of the company’s spiral-shaped prototype. The company was founded in 2021 and already has an ingenious design. It is essentially a three foot tall water turbine with six foot long stabilizing fins.

You can lower it over the side of a boat, just like an anchor. Whether the tides are coming in or going out, the water spins the turbine and generates 1.6 kW of power. When would this be useful? Anytime a boat is anchored or docked for an extended time.

Fishing trawler dragging a net through the open ocean.
Fishing Trawler | Taylanibrahim via iStockPhoto

Founder and CEO Lance McMullan was actually working as a deckhand on a commercial fishing boat when he had the idea for Sitkana. A fishing boat would be an excellent use case for a small hydrogenerator. In addition, a houseboat owner could buy one to generate all the electricity they need.

Because water is 840 times as heavy as air, a relatively small hydrogenerator produces much more energy than a similarly-sized wind turbine. But tidal power is even more concentrated in narrow bays and fjords, such as many harbors where house boats dock or long inlets where fisherman work.

Other benefits of Sitkana’s design include the simplicity of its product. Instead of manufacturing and shipping them all over the world, Sitkana could sell the designs to rural communities with a 3D printer who could build their own.

The company won the 2023 Edge Prize for Innovation and Technology. The committee described Sitkana as, “Innovators, entrepreneurs, and local leaders weaving open source and Indigenous knowledge together for a more connected and resilient world.”

Next, learn how a Scottish distillery is producing all the biogas its delivery trucks need as a biproduct of the whisky-making process, or see Sitkana’s personal hydrogenerator design in action in the video below:

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Henry Cesari

Henry Cesari joined MotorBiscuit in 2021 and brings his deep interest in vintage cars, trucks, and motorcycles to the site. Having restored his first classic car at just 16 years old, Henry has wrenched on everything from overland campers to Japanese motorcycles and even pre-war Bugattis. Henry is also an avid attendee at local car shows and genuinely enjoys connecting with fellow auto enthusiasts.

Henry earned a Bachelor’s in Anthropology and English from the University of Vermont. He has since incorporated his love of the written word with his admiration of classic cars. While Henry is interested in vintage cars, he believes the golden age of cars is yet to come. He is confident journalists will play an important role in this revolution by exposing the industry as it is now and envisioning its possible future.