Undersea energy harvesting electrical power station

A system that generates electrical energy from a fluid temperature differential, the system comprising:

• a hollow canister including a top portion and a bottom portion;
• an inner compartment within the interior of the hollow canister, the inner compartment being porous, fluidly connecting the top portion to the inner compartment to the bottom portion;
• a neutral buoyancy device located in the top portion and outside of the inner compartment of the hollow canister;
• a variable buoyancy device located inside the inner compartment of the hollow canister;
• a thermoelectric module within the hollow canister, the thermoelectric module configured to generate electrical energy based on a temperature difference of between a temperature within the hollow canister and an exterior temperature on the periphery of the hollow canister;
• and
• an electrical storage module connected to the thermoelectric module that stores electrical energy generated by the thermoelectric module, wherein
• the top portion is tapered away from the inner compartment to a top tapered end, where the top portion is open at the top tapered end to form a top opening, and
• the bottom portion is tapered away from the inner compartment to a bottom tapered end, where the bottom portion is open at the bottom tapered end to form a bottom opening.

A method of operation that generates electrical energy from a fluid temperature differential, the method comprising:

• causing a variable buoyancy device to become positively buoyant and provide an upward force on a hollow canister so that the hollow canister moves in an upward direction such that a neutral buoyancy device within the hollow canister moves away from a top opening in the hollow canister, the hollow canister including:
• a top portion and a bottom portion;
• an inner compartment within the hollow canister, the inner compartment being porous to allow fluid transfer across the inner compartment;
• the neutral buoyancy device located outside of the inner compartment of the hollow canister;
• the variable buoyancy device located inside the inner compartment of the hollow canister;
• and
• a thermoelectric module proximate an inner portion of the hollow canister, wherein
• the top portion is tapered away from the inner compartment to a top tapered end, where the top portion is open at the top tapered end to form the top opening, and
• the bottom portion is tapered away from the inner compartment to a bottom tapered end, where the bottom portion is open at the bottom tapered end to form a bottom opening;
• filling an interior portion of the hollow canister with a first fluid through the top opening while any existing fluid in the interior portion of the hollow canister exits through the bottom opening;
• causing the variable buoyancy device to become negatively buoyant and provide a downward force on the hollow canister so that the hollow canister moves in a downward direction such that the neutral buoyancy device obstructs the top opening;
• preventing the interior portion of the hollow canister to fill with fluid through the bottom opening as a result of the neutral buoyancy device obstructing the top opening;
• and
• generating electrical energy from the thermoelectric module based on a temperature difference between an interior temperature of the first fluid in the interior portion of the hollow canister and an exterior temperature of a second fluid contacting the periphery of the hollow canister.