DOE Launches $1.7 Million Prize to Energy Offshore Financial system with Marine Vitality

The U.S. Division of Vitality (DOE) immediately launched the Powering the Blue Financial system™: Energy at Sea Prize, which can award as much as $1.7 million to opponents to advance applied sciences that use marine power to energy ocean-based actions.

Subsequent-generation maritime or “blue” applied sciences are shifting farther offshore to seize information throughout the ocean. Functions might embody ocean-observing units, aquaculture installations, and way more, and all require entry to constant, domestically out there energy. This prize challenges opponents to fulfill this want by figuring out new, revolutionary, and possible marine power ideas that harness the facility of the ocean.

“Marine power applied sciences have unbelievable potential to energy techniques out at sea that serve broad societal wants, like amassing information about our huge and largely unexplored oceans,” mentioned Jeff Marootian, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Vitality Effectivity and Renewable Vitality. “I’m excited to see the ingenious ideas opponents develop and the way they may also help advance our purpose to realize net-zero emissions throughout all sectors of our economic system by 2050.”

Ideas can energy any off-grid use within the ocean with marine power, which incorporates energy from waves, tides, and ocean currents. To speed up the commercialization of the nascent marine power business, opponents’ ideas ought to have a excessive potential for eventual deployment at sea.

Over two phases, the Energy at Sea Prize will incentivize opponents to develop novel, marine energy-powered ideas by selecting a minimum of one integration problem particular to the blue economic system:

• Entry: How does the answer assist to scale back the excessive price or restricted alternatives for service, upkeep, and/or intervention?
• Deployment period: How does the answer enhance the deployment period at sea?
• Vitality storage: How does the answer enhance the capabilities presently restricted by battery capability?
• Environmental/ecological impression: How does the answer decrease the unfavourable results of interactions with native natural world?
• Harsh operational situations: How does the answer handle operations in difficult situations and undesirable progress of marine organisms?
• Hybridization with different renewable power sources: How does the answer make the most of marine power to deal with energy gaps brought on by intermittency of different non-marine renewable power sources?
• Suitability of energy: How does the answer maximize effectivity?

The primary part, CONCEPT, will heart on growing groups and sound ideas, awarding as much as 20 winners from a money prize pool of as much as $200,000. Ideas in early phases of improvement are welcome—from a system, subsystem, or element that has not but been developed to people who have had some earlier work accomplished as much as the prototype stage. The CONCEPT part is now open for submissions and can shut on July 26, 2024. The problem’s first webinar will probably be held November 29 to tell opponents about prize particulars.

The second part, DEVELOP, goals to higher place opponents for continued expertise improvement following the prize. As much as 20 DEVELOP part winners will probably be chosen and share a money prize pool of as much as $1.5 million.

Along with money prizes, opponents will obtain a number of sorts of help all through the competitors, together with webinars, networking classes, and coaching in marine power, functions within the blue economic system, commercialization greatest practices, or different subjects of curiosity.

This prize helps the targets of the DOE Water Energy Applied sciences Workplace (WPTO)’s Powering the Blue Financial system initiative.

This prize is funded by WPTO and is run by DOE’s Nationwide Renewable Vitality Laboratory (NREL). The Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Workplace of Aquaculture, NOAA-led U.S. Built-in Ocean Observing System, NOAA Ocean Acidification Program, NOAA’s Nationwide Sea Grant School Program, and DOE’s Pacific Northwest Nationwide Laboratory additionally present technical help.

Study extra about taking part within the prize and phone PowerAtSea@NREL.gov for extra data. Go to American-Made Challenges to remain updated with different DOE competitions designed to spur innovation in clear power.

Courtesy of Vitality.gov.