A potential method for underwater charging

A method for underwater energy transfer is proposed in order to increase the endurance and range of an autonomous underwater vehicle. The main components of the method are light emitting diodes and photovoltaic cells. The light emitting diodes convert electrical energy to radiant energy, which is then absorbed by the photovoltaic cells to produce electricity for battery charging. Simple analysis shows the achievable efficiency, using commercial off-the-shelf components, of the proposed contactless energy transfer method is 3.6%.