Two Wave Energy Prize Qualified Teams Selected by DOE to Receive Share in $10.5 Million for a Separate WEC Survivability Funding Opportunity

The New Year started with some good news for M3 Wave LLC and Oscilla Power, Inc. as these Wave Energy Prize Qualified Teams were two of six organizations selected to receive a share of $10.5 million under the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Durability and Survivability funding opportunity. This funding, which is separate from the Wave Energy Prize, targets the advancement of marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) device durability and survivability, features—not being tested for in the Wave Energy Prize—that make devices withstand the harsh conditions encountered in real-world marine environments.

• M3 Wave LLC, of Salem, Ore., is developing a wave energy converter that sits on the ocean floor and harnesses energy from the pressure waves beneath ocean waves. This project will develop modeling tools to explore ways to 1) minimize effects of sediment transport, effects such as water erosion, displacement, and tilting of the device; and to 2) increase the lifetime of their system by reducing maintenance requirements in commercial-scale deployments.
• Oscilla Power, Inc., of Seattle, is developing a wave energy converter consisting of a surface float that is tethered to a base suspended in the water. This project aims to optimize the device’s storm-survival configurations, which will decrease the loads the device experiences during extreme conditions.

DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories will also provide numerical modeling resources and expertise to the teams as they develop these next-generation ideas.

The design improvements will help these devices last longer, cost less to maintain and capture even more sustainable energy from the enormous potential of the nation’s oceans and rivers. Extending the lifespans of wave energy converters will ultimately lead to a reduction in the cost of MHK-derived energy. As part of its MHK technology research and development efforts, DOE is working to harness the largely untapped renewable energy in waves, tidal, ocean and river currents that could provide clean, affordable energy to homes and businesses across the country’s coastal regions.

From Qualified Teams to Finalists: The Assessment at Technology Gate 2

The purpose of the Wave Energy Prize’s Technology Gate 2 (TG2) is to evaluate the likelihood of each Qualified Team’s success in achieving the ACE threshold (the doubling of the state-of-the-art ACE from 1.5 m/$M to 3 m/$M) if they were to test a larger, 1/20^th scale model of their device in the MASK Basin. Those that present a high likelihood of achieving the ACE threshold will, through a rigorous judging process during TG2, be deemed Finalists.

As specified in the Wave Energy Prize Rules, TG2 will evaluate Qualified Teams using several metrics, as detailed below:

1. As a first step in the evaluation process, judges will consider each Qualified Team’s Model Design and Construction Plan to determine if the team exhibits a reasonable understanding of the effort, tasks, timeline and materials that will be needed to design and build a 1/20^th scale model. The assessment criteria for the Model Design and Construction Plans can be found in the table below:
   

   Criterion	Narrative Document	Timing Plan	Bill of Materials
   To score a “Pass” Assessment	The document illustrates a concise and thought out plan describing how the Team will successfully design and construct a 1/20th scale model in the allotted timeframe	A detailed Gantt chart or similar timeline graphic shows the tasks that the Team plans to complete in the allotted timeframe	The provided BoM template document is filled out with a logical breakdown of systems, subsystems, assemblies, and components along with actual or predicated quantity, mass, cost, supplier data for each item
   To score a “Fail” Assessment	No document provided or a document that shows a significant lack of understanding of the phases, tasks, and/or steps needed to design and build a scale model	No document provided or the provided document shows a significant lack of understanding the tasks and timeline needed to complete the build of a scale model.	No document provided, document provided is not in the approved template form or the provided document shows a significant lack of understanding the materials to build and test a scale model

   Only teams that provide credible plans will be eligible to continue in the Prize.

2. If the judging panel determines that a Qualified Team’s Model Design and Construction Plan is credible, i.e. if it is given a “pass,” it will then use the following information to evaluate the likelihood of the proposed wave energy converter (WEC) concept in satisfying the required threshold value for ACE during the 1/20^th scale testing:
   • The capture width of the physical 1/50^th scale model from the 1/50^th scale testing, scaled up to full scale.
   • Assessment by the judges of the correlations between numerical model predictions and measurements for capture widths and device motions.  Predictions are at full scale for 1/50 wave conditions; experimental measurements from 1/50 test campaign are scaled up to full scale.
   • Revised Technical Submission and its re-evaluation using the Technology Performance Level rubric used in TG1.
   • Predictions of ACE (in m/$M) that can be expected in the MASK Basin testing.

   Criterion	Capture Width of the Physical 1/50th Scale Model from 1/50th Scale Testing, Scaled up to Full Scale	Correlation of Numerical Modeling Results to 1/50th Scale Waves	Re-Evaluation of Technical Submission using TPL	Predictions of ACE Expected in MASK Basin
   Value range	1 to 9 grouped in low, medium, high	1 to 9 grouped in low, medium, high	1 to 9 grouped in low, medium, high	1 to 9 grouped in low, medium, high
   Weighting for combined score	15%	25%	30%	30%

   The judges will score each of the above four criteria on a scale of 1 to 9. Then, they will calculate an overall combined score by computing a weighted average of the four individual scores.

   Qualified Teams will then be ranked from the highest overall combined score down to the lowest; up to 10 will be named Finalist Teams and up to two Alternate Teams will be identified.

   If the judges and/or Small-Scale Test Facilities are unable to test, measure and analyze the 1/50th scale WEC device in order to adequately determine absorbed power, the device will be eliminated from the Wave Energy Prize.

For more information on the assessment of the construction plan, evaluation of the four criteria, and the weighting of each as part of the overall combined score, please see the Wave Energy Prize Rules.

Team Technical Summaries

It has been more than two months since the 20 Qualified Teams in the Wave Energy Prize were announced, and you are probably wondering what they have been working on. Well, they have been developing their 1/50^th scale wave energy converter (WEC) models; preparing for testing these scale models; and starting to numerically model their innovative WEC designs. Below, in their own words, the Qualified Teams provide a glimpse into the breakthrough technologies they are developing (we present them alphabetically based on team name, and will do so for all Qualified Teams).

Advanced Ocean Energy @ Virginia Tech
Hampton Roads, Va.

Virginia Tech’s MULti-body LinEar Terminator (MULLET) is a self-contained array of Bundled pIpe Terminator Wave Energy Converters (BITWECs). Each BITWEC is a floating bundle of large-diameter high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes. The basic MULLET building block is a “tandem BITWEC” whereby two pipe bundles are arrayed one behind the other in the down-wave direction.

Each bundle is tethered by a pair of flexible fiber matrix composite tube pumps to the deeply submerged deck of a pontoon barge, which also is fabricated from large-diameter HDPE pipe sections, as shown in the conceptual diagram above, seawater output from the tube pumps is piped to an underwater habitat housing an accumulator and Pelton turbine-generator.

The MULLET barge is assembled while floating in calm water at dockside and then towed to its offshore installation site. Once on site, the barge is connected to a pre-set catenary anchor-leg mooring (CALM) buoy. The barge pontoons and CALM buoy are then flooded with seawater, submerging the barge to its mid-water operating position, where the barge deck acts as an inertial reaction plate for the floating bundles to work against, stretching the tube pumps. For inspection and maintenance, the barge and CALM buoy are re-floated to the surface by reversing the installation procedure.

AquaHarmonics
Portland, Ore.

AquaHarmonics’ Wave Energy Device is a point absorber device consisting of a simple Power Take Off (PTO) system mounted in a cone/cylinder shaped hull with a single mooring line that has a power cable at its core.

The PTO System consists of a sheave fixed to a shaft mounted in bearings within a sealed compartment and directly coupled to a pair of axial flux generators. The device only generates power on the rise of the wave, and during the fall of the wave the generators are operated as motors to reel in the mooring line for the next wave cycle.

During reel in, the control system of the device can provide additional energy input to achieve phase locking with any wave frequency. This control method is known as “de-clutching,” which has been shown to effectively increase the operational bandwidth of a wave energy device.

The generated power is far greater than that consumed during the wave cycle with some energy stored on board for periods of low wave activity. The power is conditioned on board and sent to shore via a slipring on the shaft connected to the power cable located at the core of the mooring line.

AquaHarmonics. Clean.Simple.Energy.

Atlantic Wavepower Partnership
Newport, R.I.

The AWS-III is a large-scale surface floating multi-absorber wave energy converter. Each absorber cell comprises a partially submerged air-filled chamber, one face of which is covered with a rubber diaphragm which flexes in response to the incoming wave actions. The movement of the diaphragm pumps air to and from the cell via an air turbine-generator set where the energy is converted to electricity. The cells are inter-connected via a ring-main such that air is exchanged between cells rather than with the outside environment.

All mechanical moving parts are isolated from the sea and contained within the device, whilst the turbine technology is tried-and-tested and available on the commercial market. The device is moored using traditional systems for offshore structures, either catenary systems and drag-embedment anchors or tension tethers and suction anchors. Accordingly, the device is utility-scale and has low technical risk and is capable of on-board maintenance of all parts with the exception of the diaphragms. Initial systems are expected to be rated at 2.0MW.

Atlas Ocean Systems
Houston, Texas

The Atlas Ocean Systems SQ5 Wave Energy Converter is a completely new device that captures energy primarily from pitch using two independent coupled oscillators. The SQ5 consists of three primary elements: 1) a float, 2) a new innovative submerged bag filled with air under pressure, and 3) a large submerged ballast.

The bag and submerged ballast are essentially in static buoyant equilibrium. The catamaran float provides roll stability and resonates in pitch with the waves and transfers vertical motion to the bag system which then excites a vertical oscillation of the submerged ballast. The oscillation of the ballast drives shape changes within the bag to pump air through a reversible flow turbine to generate useful energy. Pitch response of the float is adjustable in real-time using a ballasting system and coupling between the float and ballast is adjusted during design. Coupling between the two oscillating systems provides a wide dual-peak absorption spectrum providing good power output over a variety of sea states. There are no mechanical moving parts, seals, hinges, or pistons requiring lubrication or maintenance. The turbine system is protected within the pressurized pneumatic system and is suspended in a transverse mounting minimizing gyroscopic forces. The nominal system is designed for a 500kW-1MW rating.

Technical Summaries from more of the Wave Energy Prize Qualified Teams will be profiled in alphabetical order in the future. Visit the new Wave Energy Prize Team Updates page for more information.

Wave Energy Prize names 20 official qualified teams

Twenty teams have successfully navigated the first technology gate of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Wave Energy Prize to become official qualified teams.

The 20 qualified teams, selected from the field of 92 official registered teams announced on July 6, will continue their quest to double the energy captured from ocean waves and win a prize purse totaling more than $2 million.

Congratulations to the official qualified teams:

• Advanced Ocean Energy @ Virginia Tech (Hampton Roads, Va.)
• AquaHarmonics (Portland, Ore.)
• Atlantic Wavepower Partnership (Newport, R.I.)
• Atlas Ocean Systems (Houston, Texas)
• CalWave (Berkeley, Calif.)
• Enorasy Labs (Bedford, Mass.)
• Float Inc. – BergerABAM (San Diego, Calif.)
• IOwec (MIT Sea Grant College Program) (Cambridge, Mass.)
• M3 Wave (Salem, Ore.)
• Mocean Energy (Annapolis, Md.)
• OceanEnergy USA (Sacramento, Calif.)
• Oscilla Power (Seattle, Wash.)
• Principle Power (Berkeley, Calif.)
• RTI Wave Power (York, Maine)
• Sea Potential (Bristol, R.I.)
• SEWEC (Redwood City, Calif.)
• Super Watt Wave Catcher Barge Team (Houston, Texas)
• Team FLAPPER (Floating Lever and Piston Power ExtractoR) (Research Triangle Park, N.C.)
• Wave Energy Conversion Corporation of America (WECCA) (North Bethesda, Md.)
• Waveswing America (Sacramento, Calif.)

View the official press release: http://waveenergyprize.org/newsroom/press-release-20-teams-advancing-next-phase-wave-energy-prize