U.S. Navy considering OPT to power sensor network

In its first customer win since going public (see Ocean Power Technologies prices U.S. IPO), Ocean Power Technologies (NASDAQ: OPTT) today announced a $1.7 million USD contract from the U.S. Navy to provide its PowerBuoy® technology for ocean data gathering.

The Navy's Deep Water Acoustic Detection System ("DWADS") program is to involve putting sophisticated data gathering and communications systems out to sea.

The program has prospective applications which include vessel tracking for homeland security, and utilizes wide-area sensor networks.

Under the contract, the Navy will ocean test OPT's autonomous PowerBuoy as the power source for the DWADS program.

OPT is also to support the Navy's ocean test procedures in the areas of mooring design, at-sea operations and deployment.

OPT is to start work immediately, and is expected to continue over an eighteen-month period.

"We believe that the advanced control features of the PowerBuoy will make a unique contribution to the success of the Navy's initiatives," said George W. Taylor, CEO of OPT.

Ocean Power Technologies is commercializing proprietary systems that generate electricity by harnessing the renewable energy of ocean waves.

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