Twenty-Five Small Businesses Selected to Receive Nearly $16.7 Million for Water Power Research and Development

Natel Energy Inc., Alameda, California

Stakeholder Outreach for FishSafe Hydropower

Natel Energy is working with the Friends of the Mississippi River and University of Minnesota to develop content for community educational kiosks about how the company’s turbine design can help reduce hydropower facilities’ environmental impacts. Communities can also provide feedback on the content, and Natel will regularly update it based on that feedback. The company will install educational kiosks at the Coon Rapids Dam Hydropower project, which already uses Natel’s turbines, with the potential to expand to other facilities that use those turbines. 

NanoSonic Inc., Pembroke, Virginia
Wireless Networked, Time-of-Flight-Based Turbulence Sensors for Waterpower Applications

NanoSonic is partnering with Virginia Tech to develop wireless sensors that can provide data about power generation and other information on the performance of hydropower and marine energy devices. This will allow owners and operators to better understand how these devices are functioning without having to shut them down to perform an evaluation. The sensors will be designed so that they can be adapted to any currently deployed water power technology.

Kitware Inc., Clifton Park, New York
Data Integration and Visualization for Enhanced Resilience and Sustainability in Hydropower (DIVERS-H)

Kitware, with support from Lawerence Berkley National Laboratory, is designing an open-source decision support tool that will use climate and hydrology data, along with water and power demand and supply projections, to determine how a hydropower facility may perform under different conditions. It will also recommend possible solutions or courses of action that operators can take to help resolve issues a facility may encounter. 

Gravity Power Inc., Santa Barbara, California

Test System for Underground Pumped Hydro

Gravity Power is developing a pumped storage hydropower (PSH) system that uses an underground structure that can be built in locations where PSH is not feasible geographically. It features an underground storage shaft that is filled with water and equipped with a piston. A pump/turbine controls the piston, which is moved through the storage shaft to generate power. Gravity Power will continue to analyze this technology’s market potential and optimal deployment placement and strategy. 

Prometheus Innovations LLC, Lafayette, Louisiana

Hydropower Operations and Maintenance Optimization from Thin Film

Prometheus Innovations is developing a thin film composite coating that will help reduce maintenance and operations costs by protecting hydropower equipment from cavitation. Cavitation is a phenomenon that affects equipment when vapor bubbles form and implode due to rapid pressure changes, generating shock waves that create cavities on the metal surface. 

Cadens LLC, Sullivan, Wisconsin

Automated Debris Passage for Micro-Hydropower

Cadens is developing a device for micro-hydropower facilities, which can generate 5 to 100 kilowatts of power, that will automatically activate a cleaning cycle when it detects the power output from a turbine declining. It will then clear any debris from the leading edge of the turbine vanes, which direct the flow of water through a turbine. This means micro-hydropower facility owners and operators will have to disrupt operations less often to manually clear debris.

Emrgy Inc., Atlanta, Georgia

Digital Twins for Canal, Hydrokinetic Turbine and Array Power Modeling and Optimization

Emrgy is developing a digital twin—a digital version of turbines, canals, or arrays that allows experts to simulate different operations or component designs—that will help it optimize turbine performance, identify maintenance needs, and devise optimal control strategies for existing canal and irrigation sites that generate energy. 

IProTech, Palmar Park, California

Build, Test, and Demonstrate the Pitching Inertial Pump Wave Energy Convertor

IProTech is designing a novel power take-off system, which converts the ocean’s motion into electricity, for a wave energy converter that relies on fewer mechanical components and, as a result, has the potential to need less maintenance. Through this project, IProTech will optimize and finalize the design using 3D modeling and build a prototype.

Peak LLC, Ames, Iowa

Flexible Oscillating Water Column Integrated Breakwater with Advanced Controls

Peak will develop, demonstrate, and validate a low-maintenance oscillating water column wave energy converter. Oscillating water column devices use wave action to pressurize air in a chamber, forcing it through a turbine to generate energy. By operating on breakwaters, which are structures designed to protect coastlines and harbors from the force of waves, the device has the potential to be more cost-effective and provide new opportunities to produce local power for communities as the devices will be incorporated into already existing structures. 

Del Mar Oceanographic, San Diego, California

Livewire: Energy Generation from Surface Waves for Long-Term Ocean Monitoring

Del Mar Oceanographic is working to develop “nano” wave energy converters that can be attached to commercially available autonomous vehicles. These devices could provide up to 10 watts for an ocean observation system that primarily measures conductivity, temperature, and depth along a vertical path. 

ORPC, Portland, Maine

Embedded Instrumentation for Detection of Flow Separation

ORPC and the University of Wisconsin are developing a pressure sensing system to better understand exactly how swirling or turbulent water patterns impact the performance of tidal energy turbines. Once commercialized, this system could help marine energy developers select higher performing, more cost-effective materials when building devices. This system also has the potential to be applied to wind turbines. 

The Candide Group LLC, downy, California

Persistent Electrically Engaged UnduLation (EEL) Drone for Maritime Monitoring

The Candide Group is developing a first-of-its-kind underwater drone that uses the piezoelectric effect to generate power. The piezoelectric effect refers to the ability of certain materials to generate an electric charge in response to applied mechanical stress, such as when the material is compressed, twisted, or stretched. In this case, ocean motions will apply the mechanical stress, allowing the drone to charge. When fully charged, it will be able to supply power to devices such as those used for ocean observation and maritime security.

Dehlsen Associates LLC, Santa Barbara, California

Co-Development of Wave Energy and Modular Floating Desalination

Dehlsen Associates, LLC plans to work with Anacapa to develop a wave energy converter with a desalination system that could support a microgrid for remote, coastal, and island areas while helping to meet drinking water needs. This project will focus on advancing the wave energy and desalination systems so they work in tandem. 

CalWave, Berkeley, California

CalWave Spring and Pre-Tension Systems for Wave Energy Converters

CalWave will conduct a detailed scoping study that evaluates all currently available pre-tensioning systems, which are used in components like the mooring systems and cables necessary for a marine energy device deployment. The study will evaluate and determine which pre-tensioning systems perform best with wave energy converters. 

FluxMagic, Portland, Oregon

Magnetic Gears for Ocean Generators

FluxMagic will test a magnetic gear that can be used to power wave energy converters (WECs). Magnetic gear WECs use magnetism to rotate the gears within the device, rather than mechanical gears with interlocking teeth that drive movement. These magnetic gears have the potential to last longer, thereby reducing maintenance intervals and improving overall WEC reliability.

RCAM Technologies, Boulder, Colorado

Ultra-Low-Cost Torpedo Anchors for Marine Energy

RCAM Technologies is updating the manufacturing process for torpedo anchors, which help stabilize marine energy devices in the water and were previously designed for floating offshore wind. Traditionally, these anchors have been made from steel, but RCAM Technologies plans to use reinforced concrete and embodied carbon, which will make the anchors more durable, less expensive, and more easily adapted to different devices and test sites. 

Nanohmics, Austin, Texas

Thermoelectric Ocean Energy Harvesters for Maritime Sensors

Nanohmics is developing a thermoelectric energy generation system that could generate power for ocean observation systems using changes in water temperatures. This system could potentially replace the battery packs that currently power these systems and must be replaced every three months. 

Tetramer Technologies, Pendleton, South Carolina

Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants (EALs) for Hydropower—Biodegradable and Non-Toxic Oils and Greases to Reduce Risks to Water Pollution

Tetramer previously developed an EAL for hydropower equipment. The EAL, which is biodegradable, has gone through lab and basic field testing and can be mass produced to help encourage its widespread adoption in the hydropower sector. Tetramer will conduct further field tests to continue to demonstrate how its EAL can be used as a replacement for current lubricants. During these field tests, Tetramer will look to demonstrate key performance requirements such as compatibility with current hydropower equipment and durability.  

Fend Inc., Arlington, Virginia

Hydropower and Dam Cybersecurity: Protection and Monitoring Using Next Generation Data Diodes

Fend Inc. will continue to develop a device that can be used to block cyberattacks on and help secure hydropower assets. The device will use data diode technology, a cybersecurity mechanism used to ensure data is transferred securely without risking exposure or corruption of sensitive information. The device can serve as a rapidly deployable cyber defense for both public and private hydropower stakeholders.  

Hedgefog, San Pedro, California

Remote Lidar Methane Sensor (RELMS)

Hedgefog will continue to develop a technology that uses lasers to measure methane emissions from hydropower reservoirs. This technology can survey locations in the reservoir that are unreachable with current measurement technology, allowing for more accurate and complete measurements. The technology will help hydropower stakeholders better assess and understand the environmental impact of above-ground reservoirs. 

Ocean Motion Technologies Inc., San Diego, California

Data Platform Enabling Wave Energy Converter Performance and Sensor Optimization: Wave Energy Converters Impact Wave Data and What To Do About It

Ocean Motion Technologies is working to add a communications system to and test a wave-powered ocean observation device that will provide critical information on ocean waves for marine energy developers. The company previously integrated an ocean observation sensor into a WEC, allowing the WEC to power the sensor while it collects data. Now, the company will prototype a real-time communication system to transfer the data collected by the WEC-powered ocean observation device back to research centers on land. Once prototyped, the device will be tested in the field to maximize energy capture and efficiency. 

CalWave Inc., Berkeley, California

CalWave xNode

CalWave will continue to develop a small-scale WEC, called the xNode, designed to provide renewable power to offshore devices. The xNode has the potential to power sensors on the sea floor and underwater vehicles and could replace existing power sources, such as batteries, fuel cells, and diesel generators, that are not suitable for long-term deployments as they must be recharged or replaced.  

Oscilla Power Inc., Seattle, Washington

Wave-Powered Radar-Based Ocean Sensing Systems

Oscilla will continue to develop a WEC that can power ocean observation platforms. The device will help lower the maintenance costs of ocean observation platforms while allowing for those platforms to be deployed longer. Currently, most ocean observation systems rely on non-rechargeable batteries, which must be manually replaced. The longer deployments will enable researchers to collect more accurate and complete data.

Triton Systems Inc., Chelmsford, Massachusetts 

Wave Energy Harvesting to Power LiDAR Buoys

Triton Systems developed a WEC to power LiDAR buoys designed to collect data to evaluate sites for marine energy and/or offshore wind deployments. LiDAR buoys have significant power requirements that are difficult to meet with onboard solar and wind power sources alone. The WEC will enable longer deployments and avoid the carbon emissions associated with the diesel generators that currently help power the buoys. Now, the Triton team will conduct two separate deployments to test the WEC in real-world conditions and finalize the design. Once the WEC design is optimized, the team will pair it with an already deployed LiDAR buoy to ensure calibration and validate that the WEC does not impact the buoy’s measurements.

MarineSitu, Seattle, Washington 

Modular Instrumentation and Automated Data Processing for Marine Energy Monitoring

To better understand and evaluate the environmental impacts of marine energy devices, MarineSitu contributed to the development of a device called the Adaptable Monitoring Package (AMP). This device can be deployed ahead of a marine energy device so developers can better understand how to best adapt their device to the conditions it will face once deployed and how to reduce its impact on the surrounding ecosystem. The AMP can also be deployed alongside a marine energy device to determine the impact of the device. MarineSitu plans to upgrade the AMP to include more monitoring capabilities, further reduce the system cost, and enable scalability. The team will then test the upgraded device at a local aquarium.