Stonehenge, Cal Poly apply for USD 3.75 mln wave energy funding pool

Stonehenge Metals Limited has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the California Polytechnic University at San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) to support joint applications for two major funding opportunities with a combined total value pool of US$3.75m being offered by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

The MOU includes a funding application for US$1.5m, which was submitted in response to a specific request made by the DOE, to Cal Poly, for “follow-on funding” to support their wave energy program.

In addition, Cal Poly and wave technology experts from the CalWave team were working with Stonehenge and Sean Moore to submit an application for the $US2.25m total prize pool for the DOE-funded Wave Energy Prize competition. Stonehenge and Cal Poly registered for the Wave Energy Prize on July 2.

Stonehenge said that the competition could provide an opportunity to test its Protean™ wave energy technology using the most advanced wave test tank in the world, the U.S. Navy’s Maneuvering and Seakeeping Basin (MASK) facility in Carderock, Maryland.

The DOE anticipates that the value of each wave energy prize grant award will be between $US250,000 and $US1.5m.

Stonehenge MD, Bruce Lane said: “The MOU with Cal Poly not only solidifies our partnership with a market leader in wave technology, it positions the Protean wave energy technology to potentially benefit from the proactive funding programs provided by the U.S. Department Of Energy.

CalWave Principal Investigator, Honourable Dr. Sam Blakeslee said: “We are delighted here at Cal Poly, through its Institute for Advanced Technology and Public Policy, to join forces with Stonehenge in the pursuit of U.S. Federal and California State funding opportunities to progress the commercialization of wave energy in the U.S.

“We hope that the body of knowledge already created within the CalWave project, especially in terms of California environmental permitting and marine / port engineering, will prove to be very relevant and useful in the process commercialising the Protean and other wave energy technologies in the US.”

Image: Protean Wave Energy