Team Wave Powered Oceanographic Gliders tests their early-stage prototype at the Naval Surface Warfare Center’s facility in Carderock, Maryland. Credit: NREL

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) today announced the winners of $500,000 in the BUILD Contest, the second phase in the Powering the Blue Economy™: Ocean Observing Prize DEVELOP Competition. The prize challenges competitors to develop solutions that use marine energy to power hurricane-monitoring systems.

“Marine energy can enable ocean-observing systems to stay at sea longer and explore more of our oceans, by providing on-site power,” said Kelly Speakes-Backman, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. “The solutions developed in the Ocean Observing Prize will help us gather higher-quality and more complete data on our oceans, weather, and atmosphere, helping us better protect communities from hurricanes.”

“Ocean observing systems are gathering key information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week all over the world,” said the director of NOAA’s National Ocean Service, Nicole LeBoeuf. “Harnessing the energy of waves to power our observation networks is a win-win and helps us meet some of our most critical missions. This kind of creativity is also an exciting part of the new blue economy.”

Three teams won cash prizes for their prototypes’ potential to power ocean-observing technologies:

• Maiden Wave Energy LLC’s Rover (Aberdeen, Maryland) – $275,000
• Wave Powered Oceanographic Gliders, a partnership between Moye Consultants LLC and Wave
• Venture (Tallahassee, Florida) – $175,000
• Kevin Lu’s EEL Drone (Los Angeles, California) – $50,000

Read the full story here: https://www.energy.gov/eere/articles/doe-and-noaa-announce-winners-ocean-observing-prize-build-contest-advance-hurricane