The US Department of Energy (DOE) has officially opened the first stage of the Waves to Water Prize, which aims to promote the development of wave energy powered desalination systems and launch new technologies to address critical water security challenges.
The prize is divided into four stages, and the first stage is now open for applications until 11 September 2019.
The US Under Secretary of Energy, Mark W. Menezes, said: “The start of the Waves to Water Prize marks an important step toward driving growth and progress in the marine energy sector as well as spurring innovation to develop desalinisation technologies that will have a global impact.”
The Waves to Water prize offers competitors up to US$2.5 million in prizes for winners to advance their solutions from concept to technical design and on to the building of a prototype, culminating in an open water testing competition, where the systems will produce clean water using only waves as power sources. The initial concept stage has US$200,000 in prizes, with up to US$10,000 in funding for up to 20 winners.
