In April, the U.S. Department of Energy announced its launch of the Wave Energy Prize competition “as a means to use a prize challenge to help dramatically improve the performance of wave energy conversion (WEC) devices, providing a pathway to game-changing reductions in the cost of wave energy.”

The competition is a multi-tiered, open entry program meant to spur development of marine hydrokinetic technology for use in the U.S.

According to the agency, the Wave Energy Prize aims to attract next generation ideas by offering a prize purse and providing an opportunity for testing at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock’s Maneuvering and Seakeeping (MASK) Basin in Maryland.

During the year-and-a-half design-build-test competition, teams must reach a number of milestones that include a technical submission, numerical modeling, and small-scale testing. Beginning in August 2016, selected projects from the initial milestone phases will be invited to participate in further testing at the MASK basin. Winners from projects tested at the MASK basin will be announced in November 2016.

For more information on the competition, log onto WaveEnergyPrize.org.

