DOE Announces Inclusive Energy Innovation Prize Selections

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Water Power Technologies Office

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May 25, 2022

Banner announcing the newsletter name "The Water Column" with an image of the ocean at sunset behind it.

Welcome to the Water Column, a monthly snapshot of marine energy news and happenings. This month’s newsletter will take approximately seven minutes to read. 

Reach out to us at WaterPowerTechnologiesOffice@ee.doe.gov with any inquiries or suggestions.

Icon of marine energy.

Did You Know?

There is enough potential in the United States’ marine energy resources to generate 2,300 terawatt-hours per year. That’s equivalent to approximately 57% of the country’s power generation in 2019.

Follow along on the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE) Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook channels for more #WaterWednesday content each week.


Upcoming Deadlines

  • The deadline to submit applications for the Testing and Expertise for Marine Energy Research (TEAMER) program’s Request For Technical Support 7 (RFTS 7) is July 16, 2022. Applications will not be open until June 1, 2022, but interested applicants are encouraged to start discussing their needs with test facilities now.

Announcements & Opportunities

An ocean wave at sunset

Sea Grant, DOE, and NOAA Fisheries Fund Six Projects to Advance Social Science and Technology Research: The Northeast Sea Grant Consortium, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) WPTO and Wind Energy Technologies Office, and the National Oceanic and Aeronautics Association’s (NOAA’s) Northeast Fisheries Science Center recently announced more than $1.1 million in federal funds for projects that will advance research on the coexistence of ocean renewable energy—including wind, current, tidal, and wave energies—with fishing and coastal communities in the Northeast United States.

DOE Awards $3.6 Million to Projects Supporting Diversity in Clean Energy Innovation: DOE recently awarded $3.6 million to 18 projects supporting justice and inclusion in clean energy innovation through the Inclusive Energy Innovation Prize, a competition designed to create a more inclusive and just innovation ecosystem for clean energy technologies. Learn more about the selected projects, many of which will enable people and organizations from underrepresented and underserved communities to build clean energy businesses that create jobs for local residents and implement community-led solutions for a clean energy future. 

DOE and WPTO Award $2.6 Million to Small Business Water Power Projects: As part of the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer program, WPTO helped select 13 water power programs, eight of which are marine energy focused, to help spur water power-focused innovation across the United States. These projects will help achieve the Biden administration’s goals of a carbon-free power sector by 2035 and net-zero emission economy by 2050. 

Applications Open for Next Round of TEAMER Technical Support: The TEAMER program, sponsored by DOE and directed by the Pacific Ocean Energy Trust, offers marine energy stakeholders and developers access to the nation’s best facilities and expertise to support marine renewable energy testing and development projects. The TEAMER program is accepting applications for its next round of support (RFTS 7) from June 1, 2022, through July 16, 2022. The TEAMER program is currently updating its application, and RFTS 7 applications will be the first cohort to use the new application. In the meantime, applicants are encouraged to reach out to test facilities to discuss their needs. Learn more about the latest TEAMER recipients and apply for the next round today.


Upcoming Events

2022 Marine Energy Collegiate Competition Final Event

May 23–27, 2022, Online

The 2022 Marine Energy Collegiate Competition concludes with an exciting five-day finale in May 2022. Seventeen collegiate teams from universities across the United States—and two teams from universities in Brazil and Northern Ireland—are presenting their marine energy device concepts and business plans to a panel of expert judges. The final event includes an opening ceremony with WPTO, three days of virtual pitches, a poster session, and an award ceremony. Experience the culmination of the year-long effort to help advance the burgeoning marine energy industry. 

Register for the event.

Marine Energy Pipeline Webinar

June 14, 2022, Online, 34 p.m. ET

The Marine Energy Data Pipeline effort, led by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), recently released the latest version of Tsdat, a data ingestion pipeline that can be used to read, process, run quality control, and convert raw data to standard formats. Join the webinar to learn more about Tsdat and its architecture. A recording of the webinar will be available on the Portal and Repository for Information on Marine Renewable Energy (PRIMRE)

Register for the event.

U.S. Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office 2022 Project Peer Review logo

Marine Energy Program Peer Review

July 18–22, 2022, Online

The Marine Energy Program Peer Review will evaluate WPTO-funded marine energy projects based on their contribution to the office’s mission and goals, track progress against stated objectives, and assess the office's overall management and performance. The Peer Review process allows external stakeholders to provide feedback and recommendations to accelerate industry development in water power technologies. This input informs decision making, enhances active project management, and may modify or expand existing projects.  The Marine Energy Program Peer Review will be virtual and open to the public.

2022 UMERC & METS Marine Energy Research Conference

Sept. 13–14, 2022, Portland, Oregon

The University Marine Energy Research Community (UMERC) and Marine Energy Technology Symposium (METS) are jointly sponsoring a marine energy research conference in Portland, Oregon, on Sept. 13–14, 2022. This event will provide a venue where technical experts can present marine energy research that helps accelerate sustainable technology development. The conference will be held in conjunction with the Ocean Renewable Energy Conference (OREC) on September 14–15, 2022. 

Register for the event.


Products & Publications

TEAMERing Up With NREL Through TEAMER: Testing new technology is critical in research and development. That’s why WPTO launched the TEAMER program in 2019. TEAMER connects marine energy technology developers with the test facilities and experts needed to mature their technology. Over the first two years of the program, TEAMER supported more than 80 marine energy projects, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) played a role in supporting 13 of them. From tidal power tug machines to tidal turbines, marine energy innovators across the country are refining their device designs thanks to this exciting program. 

Wave Energy Converter Simulator v5.0 (WEC-Sim 5.0): Sandia National Laboratories and NREL recently released Wave Energy Converter SIMulator (WEC-Sim) v5.0, which includes major code overhauls. WEC-Sim is an open-source software tool that developers can use to simulate wave energy converters and is a collaboration between the two laboratories and funded by WPTO. WEC-Sim is publicly available on GitHub, and more information on the tool and its capabilities is available online. 

Offshore Aquaculture: A Market for Ocean Renewable Energy: Marine energy and offshore aquaculture are two industries that are likely compatible for colocation; marine energy has the potential to provide power for offshore aquaculture and can decrease the environmental impact of operations by providing power at sea and reducing reliance on diesel. A new report from the International Energy Agency’s Ocean Energy Systems explores the opportunities for marine energy to provide power to aquaculture operations. Visit the Ocean Energy Systems website to read the report, authored by staff at PNNL with international partners, and watch the recording of a webinar where authors summarized their findings.


In Case You Missed It

TEAMER Is Making Marine Energy Research Accessible: Catch up on last month’s webinar to see how the TEAMER program is connecting marine energy innovators with state-of-the-art facilities for the support, testing, and expertise they need to create the next big achievement in ocean renewable energy. 

DOE Announces Winners of Wave-Energy-Powered Desalination Prize Competition: Last month, DOE announced the winners of $1 million in cash prizes from the DRINK Finale of the Waves to Water Prize, which challenged competitors to design, build, and test devices that use wave energy to produce clean drinking water from ocean water. Oneka Technologies won the grand prize of $500,000 for its device, the Oneka Snowflake. Learn more about the prize’s finale events and the winners, and watch the video recap to hear from competitors.

WPTO Highlights Marine Energy Projects in Annual Accomplishments Report: This WPTO article summarizes the marine energy projects featured in its 2020–2021 Accomplishments Report. Learn more about the WPTO-funded efforts to advance promising marine energy research and technologies, which convert the power in waves, tides, and ocean and river currents into clean electricity.


WPTO In the News


Marine Mentions