On Dec. 4, 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a more than $18 million investment in 27 research and development (R&D) projects through the Marine Energy University Foundational R&D funding opportunity. These projects are at 17 universities, including five minority-serving institutions. The Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) and Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) funded this opportunity.
Description
The Marine Energy University Foundational R&D funding opportunity supports foundational research at domestic institutions of higher education to address challenges facing marine and ocean renewable energy industries and spur innovation and development. This opportunity provides funding for foundational R&D activities to advance marine energy and floating offshore wind technologies with the goal of more widely deploying renewable energy sources.
Selectees
Topic Area 1: Publicly Available Marine Energy Data Analysis and Test Platform(s) to Produce Publicly Available Data
These projects will generate publicly available data and test platforms that will help identify cost reductions and performance improvements to advance marine energy devices.
Project Name: Application of Engineering Co-Design for Open-Source Wave Energy Converter Performance Improvements and Levelized Cost of Energy Reductions
Location: Corvallis, Oregon
Award Amount: $500,000
Summary: This project aims to demonstrate an engineering co-design approach to improve performance and reduce the average cost of energy produced for two open-source wave energy converters (WECs) the Laboratory Upgrade Point Absorber and the Floating Oscillating Surge WEC. In this project, co-design involves considering concurrently the levelized cost of energy and the optimal redesign of various WEC components and systems.This was an empty link: Sandia National Laboratories is a partner on this project.
Project Name: W2ET LAB: A Fully Automated, Remotely Controllable Water and Wind Energy Test Laboratory
Location: New Brunswick, New Jersey
Award Amount: $500,000
Summary: This project seeks to develop a fully automated, remotely controllable water and wind energy test (W2ET) laboratory to advance marine energy and offshore wind technologies. This fully digitized facility will be able to test multiple types of water power and wind energy devices, generating publicly available data for model-scale marine energy and floating offshore wind turbine prototypes and helping to reduce device costs.
Project Name: A Universal Hardware-in-the-Loop Platform for Wave Energy Converter, Power Take-Off, and Control Tests
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Award Amount: $998,739
Summary: This project aims to provide an easy-to-access hardware-in-the-loop platform for wave energy developers to thoroughly examine their controller designs and power take-off systems (PTOs), which convert the power from waves into electricity, in a safe and controlled dry lab environment. The platform ensures a complete wave-to-wire test without the need to test in the water, making it possible to perform fast and verifiable design iterations before field deployment. The data collected will help build more accurate PTO models, quantify PTO and control algorithm performance, and ultimately inform cost reductions of wave energy converter designs. Sandia National Laboratories is a partner on this project.
Project Name: Leveraging Lab Test Bench to Create Database for Wave Energy Converter Power Take-Offs Through Standardized Testing
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Award Amount: $500,000
Summary: This project aims to advance wave energy technologies by rigorously testing various power-take off systems. Researchers will test various designs under simulated marine conditions, aiming to enhance their efficiency, durability, and reliability. They will also create a comprehensive, publicly accessible database with detailed performance data and insights from the tests, which will help advance and support the commercialization of wave energy technologies. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is a partner on this project.
Topic Area 2: Sustainable and Scalable Offshore Wind, Marine Energy, and Aquaculture
These projects will advance potential synergies between offshore wind and/or marine energy and aquaculture development. (This topic area is a joint effort between WPTO and WETO.)
Project Name: Assessing Feasibility of Floating Offshore Wind and Aquaculture Co-Location: Technical, Environmental, and Social Challenges and Opportunities
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Award Amount: $375,000
Summary: Determining the feasibility of co-locating aquaculture and floating offshore wind has the potential to increase the viability of ocean co-use for both technologies. Researchers will study the techno-economic, social, and environmental challenges and opportunities associated with nine different co-located offshore wind and aquaculture technology pairings. University of Maine, Xodus Group, and Kelson Marine are partners on this project.
Project Name: Economic Feasibility of Co-Location of Floating Offshore Wind and Sustainable Offshore Aquaculture in California
Location: San Luis Obispo, California
Award Amount: $375,000
Summary: Researchers will work with aquaculture experts and wind farm developers with projects off the central and north coasts of California to determine the socio-economic feasibility of co-locating aquaculture and wind development in the wind lease areas in California. They will test whether market economic assumptions will support further efforts to pursue co-location policies for offshore wind and aquaculture in California and what criteria are needed for economically profitable co-location.
Project Name: Economic Feasibility of Wave-Powered Offshore Kanpachi Fish Farming
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Award Amount: $497,024
Summary: Researchers plan to work closely with a local aquaculture farm to assess the feasibility of using the Halona Wave Energy converter to decarbonize its offshore aquaculture operations. In this project, the device will be optimized for a lower wave energy environment, paired with a solar energy system for increased reliability, and modified to suit the aquaculture farm’s specific needs. Researchers will also create open-source datasets of aquaculture energy needs and the available wave energy resource and engage with the community and regulators of Kailua-Kona to incorporate community feedback into optimized technology designs. The Halona Wave Energy Converter was previously developed and tested at the University of Hawaii with funding from the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command. Hawaii Ocean Power Solutions, which is commercializing the device, and Blue Ocean Mariculture are partners on this project.
Project Name: Design, Testing, and Evaluation of a Small Wave Energy Converter System for Integration with Marine Aquaculture Systems
Location: Durham, New Hampshire
Award Amount: $375,000
Summary: This project aims to develop a wave energy converter from an existing prototype to deploy at an operational aquaculture facility in the coastal waters of New Hampshire. Researchers plan to conduct full-scale tank tests and model simulations using the open-source tool, Wave Energy Converter SIMulator. As a result, researchers will quantify and demonstrate the details necessary for designing a marine energy system for aquaculture operations. The U.S. Naval Academy is a partner on this project.
Topic Area 3: Undergraduate Senior Design and/or Research Project
Projects in this topic area represent undergraduate senior design and/or research projects in marine energy.
Project Name: Unique Opportunities, Local Solutions: User-Centered Design of Marine Energy for Lake Erie
Location: Berea, Ohio
Award Amount: $499,796
Summary: This project aims to help grow a skilled marine energy workforce in the Great Lakes region by engaging Baldwin Wallace University and Davis Aerospace and Maritime High School students in the development of marine energy solutions designed for the unique challenges and opportunities in Lake Erie. The project will leverage three learning opportunities at the university: a marine energy elective course, the university’s engineering capstone program, and summer research experiences. Students will engage in deliberate and iterative stakeholder engagement to develop technologies that meet a real need of the freshwater blue economy in the Great Lakes.
Project Name: Coordinated Senior Design Projects and Undergraduate Research to Advance Wave and Current Energy Conversion
Location: Boca Raton, Florida
Award Amount: $500,000
Summary: Under this project, 24 students will receive advanced preparation for marine energy-focused senior design projects through undergraduate research opportunities. This will include 12 targeted senior design projects—four focused on wave energy converters, four focused on marine current turbines, and four focused on the grid.
Project Name: Next Wave: Advancing Undergraduate Education in Marine Renewable Energy
Location: College Station, Texas
Award Amount: $500,000
Summary: This project aims to enrich the educational and professional preparation of undergraduate ocean engineering students from Texas A&M and other minority-serving institutions by integrating advanced marine energy concepts into existing capstone curriculum. This will involve an introductory course to marine energy, an undergraduate marine energy summer camp in Galveston, industry engagement, and practical, hands-on experiences in designing and testing marine energy solutions.
Project Name: Alaska Students in Marine Energy
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
Award Amount: $500,000
Summary: This project will leverage existing programs at the University of Alaska Fairbanks to develop undergraduate students well equipped to enter the workforce or graduate school in marine energy in Alaska. Students may progress from microgrid bootcamps, to undergraduate research projects, to summer internships, and ultimately to senior capstone design courses.
Project Name: Advancing Student Success and Understanding and Research in Marine Energy for Environmental Resilience (ASSURE)
Location: Houston, Texas
Award Amount: $499,967
Summary: This project will involve the development of course materials for marine energy related to environmental resilience and a project-based learning course to support students in capstone design or research related to marine energy. Four cohorts of 30 students per year will respond to challenge statements and research innovative designs working with industry and alumni experts. Students will also engage with underserved communities in Houston.
Project Name: Tri-Campus Undergraduate Engineering Design and Research Projects in Marine Energy
Location: Seattle, Washington
Award Amount: $499,998
Summary: This project will equip more than 88 undergraduate engineering students with the skills and knowledge necessary for careers related to marine energy by increasing the number and diversity of senior design projects and paid undergraduate research positions in marine energy. It will also expand the visibility and collaboration between these projects through peer design reviews and other interactions.
Project Name: Marine Energy in the Midwest Through Project-Based Engineering and Design
Location: Madison, Wisconsin
Award Amount: $500,000
Summary: This project will build sustainable engineering curricula in marine energy by investing in undergraduate courses targeted at students in mechanical engineering and upgrading teaching lab equipment. Inclusive student cohorts will be actively recruited from diverse student groups on campus.
Topic Area 4: Open
These projects advance ideas that do not fit within the parameters of the other topic areas but support WPTO's Marine Energy Program objectives of driving cost reductions by improving device performance and reducing costs of existing device designs or testing and deployment requirements.
Project Name: Application of Integrating Wave Power Harvesting with Jellyfish Biomechanics through Distributed Smart Materials to Revolutionize Underwater Autonomy
Location: Houghton, Michigan
Award Amount: $598,774
Summary: This project will advance the WaveJelX, a novel, bio-inspired uncrewed underwater vehicle that harvests wave power using the propulsion biomechanics of jellyfish. It features a dome and smart material-based artificial muscles. This research aims to integrate wave power harvesting capabilities with jellyfish biomechanics, creating a versatile underwater robotic system that can reduce costs and remain deployed longer than existing uncrewed underwater vehicles. American Bureau of Shipping is a partner on this project.
Project Name: Application of Adaptive Stiffness Power Take-Off for Broadband Wave Energy Converters
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
Award Amount: $999,958
Summary: Researchers will develop and demonstrate a power take-off system that enables wave energy converters (WECs) to operate at maximum power for longer and achieve higher annual energy production. By optimally controlling which wave sizes cause the most device motion, the WEC can be tuned to automatically maximize power output over a broad range of sea conditions. Coastal Studies Institute and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution are partners on this project.
Project Name: Application of MARINER (MArine-based RecIprocating curreNt Energy converteR)
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
Award Amount: $1,000,000
Summary: Researchers will advance MARINER, a device that can capture energy from water currents for near and offshore applications. It is designed to eliminate the need for complex controls, reduce environmental risks, and expand deployment possibilities to areas with lower current flow speeds and higher presence of marine life. Coastal Studies Institute is a partner on this project.
Project Name: Application of Next-Generation, Commercially Viable, High-Efficiency, High-Bandwidth, High-Reliability Wave Energy Converter Power Electronics and Energy Storage
Location: Corvallis, Oregon
Award Amount: $999,463
Summary: This project aims to develop a state-of-the-art design model and optimization tool tailored for wave energy converter (WEC) electric drivetrains, which transfer power in the device. This would augment existing tools by adding detailed power electronics planning/design capabilities, helping increase the efficiency with which WECs can convert power. Researchers will also design a novel power converter hardware prototype that can serve as a building block to developing larger WECs. The National Laboratory of the Rockies is a partner on this project.
Project Name: Application of Wave-to-Wire Prototype Development and Testing of Real-Time Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Docking and Recharging from Wave Energy Converters
Location: Corvallis, Oregon
Award Amount: $1,000,000
Summary: Researchers will develop and test in the laboratory an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) docking and recharging system that can be integrated with the open-source Laboratory Upgrade Point Absorber and the Floating Oscillating Surge Wave Energy Converter. Combined AUV-wave energy converter docking and recharging technology has the potential to enable long-duration AUV deployments for a range of blue economy applications. The University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory and the University of Hawaii at Manoa are partners on this project.
Project Name: Application of Enhancing Synergy: Real-Time Co-Simulation Framework for Networked Marine Microgrids
Location: Stony Brook, New York
Award Amount: $500,000
Summary: This project aims to advance a networked simulation platform and framework to evaluate connected marine energy devices on a microgrid. This approach and technology would allow for dynamic decision making and scaling to various microgrid sizes, allowing them to be more responsive and effective in the real world once commercialized. The College of Staten Island is a partner on this project.
Project Name: Application of MREvolution: A Scalable and Self-Coordinated Power Conversion Architecture
Location: Stony Brook, New York
Award Amount: $500,000
Summary: This project will advance a scalable, reconfigurable system to enable communication among and convert power in marine energy devices designed for standalone and grid-connected applications. The system is designed to be compatible with all marine energy devices with the goal of helping to accelerate their deployment. Sandia National Laboratories is a partner on this project.
Project Name: Application of Under Ice Hydrokinetics for Alaska
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
Award Amount: $1,000,000
Summary: This project will advance the Reactive Reversible Blade Turbine, which is optimized to harness energy from slowly moving waterways and could be operated in under-ice current in frozen rivers. This offers the opportunity to capture energy from an untapped resource and unlock the ability to generate electricity for lighting and communications in remote applications during Alaska’s cold, dark winter months. Researchers will field test a prototype in Alaska. Creek Tides Energy and Power and the Southwest Research Institute are partners on this project.
Project Name: Application of Integrated Mooring Load Absorber and Monitoring System
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Award Amount: $994,194
Summary: This project will advance a dynamic load absorber for mooring lines. Mooring lines help keep wave energy converters in place. This load absorber has the dual benefit of mitigating sudden and severe forces on the device and harvesting energy for monitoring sensors along the mooring line. Ultimately, dynamic load absorbers will help to reduce fatigue on the mooring line and the wave energy converter.
Project Name: Application of Ultra High-Performance Concrete for Enhanced Durability of Wave Energy Converter Hulls
Location: Durham, New Hampshire
Award Amount: $985,295
Summary: Ultra high-performance concrete (UHPC) has superior strength and durability properties compared to conventional materials. Preliminary life cycle cost analyses show that using UHPC for wave energy converter hulls can reduce maintenance costs by 36% compared to hulls made of conventional materials. In this project, researchers will expand performance data for using UHPC in marine energy applications. The University of Houston and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are partners on this project.
Project Name: Application of Novel Composite Turbine Blade Testing and Validation Using the Open-Source Tidal Energy Converter Test Bed at the Atlantic Marine Energy Center-University of New Hampshire Tidal Energy Test Site
Location: Durham, New Hampshire
Award Amount: $1,000,000
Summary: Researchers will manufacture, validate, and deploy baseline and novel recyclable composite blades on the highly instrumented Open-Source Tidal Energy Converter Test Bed. This will allow researchers to generate open-source data for blade stresses and turbine operational loads in a real tidal flow at a meaningful scale to enable model validation. This project will help accelerate design and performance improvements for tidal energy blades. The National Laboratory of the Rockies and Sandia National Laboratories are partners on this project.
Project Name: Application of Effects of Boundary Proximity on Cross-Flow Turbines
Location: Seattle, Washington
Award Amount: $999,266
Summary: Cross-flow turbines are often the most suitable technology for generating power in relatively shallow, constrained channels like rivers. However, turbine rotors may be near the water’s surface, channel bottom, or adjacent turbines. This project aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of the effects of these proximities on cross-flow turbine performance and provide site developers with the knowledge needed to evaluate trade-offs in turbine placement and arrangement. The University of Wisconsin is a partner on this project.
Selection for award negotiations is not a commitment by DOE to issue an award or provide funding. Before funding is issued, DOE and the applicants will undergo a process, and DOE may cancel negotiations and rescind the selection for any reason during that time. Award amounts are rounded and may change pending final negotiations.
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