Marine energy concepts secure $200K in US Power at Sea Prize launch

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) has unveiled the winners of the first phase of its Power at Sea Prize, awarding $200,000 to 20 teams for marine energy concepts aimed at powering ocean-based activities.

“There is so much potential for marine energy technologies to power systems for offshore work such as ocean exploration and weather monitoring,” said WPTO Director, Matthew Grosso. 

“The CONCEPT Phase winners delivered the out-of-the-box ideas we were looking for as we work to harness that potential, and I look forward to seeing their progress in the prize’s next phase.”

According to the U.S. DOE, each team received $10,000 for their ideas, which ranged from marine-powered aquaculture systems to recharging stations for autonomous underwater vehicles and artificial reefs equipped with wave energy converters (WECs). 

These proposals align with WPTO’s mission to leverage marine energy to advance the blue economy, targeting applications such as ocean observation, aquaculture, and storm tracking.

The winning teams include AquaSync from Ann Arbor, Michigan; BlueBio&Beyond from Hoboken, New Jersey; Cal Poly Mechanical Engineering from San Luis Obispo, California; Changzheng Huang from Irvine, California; E-Wave Technologies from Hoboken, New Jersey; IMTAqua from Ithaca, New York; OceaniCal from Berkeley, California; ODU Ocean Wave Energy from Norfolk, Virginia; OffshoreLink from Hoboken, New Jersey; and Oscilla Power from Seattle, Washington. 

The list goes on with Pittsburgh Coastal Energy from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Poseidon’s Kite from Keswick, Virginia; SEAquestration Team from Ithaca, New York; Seatrec from Vista, California; Sperra from Boulder, Colorado; Team Michigan Tech from Houghton, Michigan; Team Streaming Energy from Wendell, North Carolina; Wave Water Works from Farmington Hills, Michigan; WaveRiders from Calverton, Maryland; and Waverocker Energy from Montrose, California.

The teams will advance to the DEVELOP Phase, which includes mentorship from industry leaders, networking opportunities, and targeted training sessions to refine their technologies further, the U.S. DOE noted. 

The DEVELOP phase, scheduled to conclude in mid-2025, will feature a prize pool of up to $1.5 million for the most promising innovations, ensuring they are positioned for continued technology development.

Funded by WPTO and administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Power at Sea Prize is a cornerstone of the DOE’s Powering the Blue Economy initiative. It also benefits from technical leadership provided by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and support from NOAA programs, including the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System, the NOAA Fisheries Office of Aquaculture, and NOAA’s Ocean Acidification Program.

In October, WPTO allocated more than $33 million in funding to advance marine energy and hydropower projects. 

Just recently, researchers at NREL’s Flatirons Campus started testing a flexible WEC prototype to enhance the potential of marine renewable energy technologies.