Subsea thermoelectric generators. 1- 10-watt peltier effect prototypes - a step towards autonomous electrical control units at subsea wellheads

Offshore oil production activities require the operation of underwater hydraulic or electric equipment. The high cost of acquisition and installation of umbilical cables to supply power is leading to the development of independently powered cableless equipment, connected to the surface by the transmission and reception of control signals through the water. As a first step toward these autonomous wellhead control systems, the authors designed and successfully tested in laboratory conditions a thermoelectric generator able to supply at least 10 watts of electric power, extracting it from the temperature difference between the oil and the surrounding water. Hydraulic pumps and pressure accumulators, control electronics, and valve actuators for wellhead control units are all technically solved problems, even for seafloors as deep as 1,000 meters. However, an autonomous underwater wellhead control unit can only be conceived if an energy source is available at the seafloor. The development of a reliable and compact power source is indeed a fundamental step towards autonomous wet Christmas tree valve actuators.