The US Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) announced an intent (DE-FOA-0003427) to provide up to $112.5 million in funding to advance the commercial readiness of wave energy technologies through open water testing and system validation. Topic Area 1 leverages wave energy technologies that provide power to distributed... Read more →

Researchers from Cranfield University have designed a method of achieving greater thrust from the power of the waves by harnessing a vessel’s submerged flapping foils (wave-induced flapping foils) in an innovative way. An open-access paper on their work is published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. The ocean waves have... Read more →

Power management company Eaton’s Vehicle Group has launched a lineup of specialized differentials for electrified vehicles with comparable performance to traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. Eaton’s Traction Control family of differentials can provide improved traction in adverse conditions, such as snow and mud, and improved stability while trailering. As... Read more →

AW-Energy Oy is entering the commercial hydrogen market by introducing a combined WaveRoller and HydrogenHub process for the production of green hydrogen. AW-Energy says that its wave energy device, when combined with other renewable energy sources, can enable significant green hydrogen cost reductions and is a viable solution in the... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is awarding $35 million to 11 projects as part of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy’s (ARPA-E) Submarine Hydrokinetic And Riverine Kilo-megawatt Systems (SHARKS) program. SHARKS teams will develop new economically competitive Hydrokinetic Turbines (HKT) designs for tidal and riverine currents. Hydrokinetic energy is an... Read more →

HydroWing, in partnership with Tocardo, introduced the THyPSO (Tidal Hydrogen production, Storage and Offtake), a concept that creates green hydrogen from the sea, contributing to the wider global decarbonization of energy systems. THyPSO is a floating platform, housing 1 – 6 conventional bi-directional tidal turbines that convert tidal flows into... Read more →

ARPA-E announced up to $38 million in funding for a new program—Submarine Hydrokinetic And Riverine Kilo-megawatt Systems (SHARKS)—to design economically attractive Hydrokinetic Turbines (HKT) for tidal and riverine currents. (DE-FOA-0002334) Tidal and riverine energy resources are renewable, have the advantage of being highly reliable and predictable, and are often co-located... Read more →

A team from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, and Georgia Tech has developed a a wave-energy-driven electrochemical CO2 reduction system that converts ocean wave energy to chemical energy in the form of formic acid, a liquid fuel. The system, described in... Read more →

Audi unveiled the eighth generation of its successful A6 full-size sedan; all engines feature Audi’s 48V mild-hybrid (MHEV) system (earlier post) as standard equipment. In Audi’s new mild-hybrid technology, a belt alternator starter (BAS) works together with a lithium-ion battery. The Audi A6 can coast between 55 and 160 km/h... Read more →

The EPoSil concept uses dielectric elastomer transducers to generate electrical energy from wave motion. Source: Bosch. Click to enlarge. A German consortium involving four companies and and two universities is developing dielectric elastomers (electroactive polymers) for the conversion of mechanical energy—in this case wave power—into electrical power. The German Federal... Read more →

A study by researchers at Iowa State University has determined that the automotive industry has a very large potential to utilize biobased materials. Their report, “Biobased Automobile Parts Investigation”, was developed for the USDA Office of Energy Policy and New Uses. Because SUVs and trucks have a large number of... Read more →

Ranges of global technical potentials of renewable energy sources derived from studies analyzed in SRREN report. Biomass and solar are shown as primary energy due to their multiple uses. Note that the figure is presented in logarithmic scale due to the wide range of assessed data. Source: SRREN. Click to... Read more →

Individual PowerBuoy and undersea substation. Source: OPT. Click to enlarge. Lockheed Martin and Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. (OPT) have signed a commercial engineering services agreement to develop OPT’s wave energy systems for use in future utility-scale power generation projects. Under the agreement, Lockheed Martin will provide its expertise in systems... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has selected national laboratory-led projects for up to $11 million this year, as well as future years, subject to annual appropriations, under DOE’s competitive laboratory solicitation for the development of Advanced Water Power Technologies. (Earlier post.) These projects are intended to advance the science... Read more →

The Oyster concept for transforming wave power to onshore electricity. Click to enlarge. A new type of wave power machine—Oyster—is being installed on the seabed off the Atlantic shores of the Orkney Islands for trials that begin this autumn. In contrast to many other wave power devices, Oyster uses hydraulic... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has selected 14 projects for negotiation of awards of up to a total of $7.3 million, with a cost-shared value of more than $18 million, for Advanced Water Power Projects R&D. The projects will advance commercial viability, cost-competitiveness, and market acceptance of new technologies... Read more →

The US Minerals Management Service (MMS) is proceeding with the consultation and analyses necessary to move toward the issuance of limited leases under its interim policy for authorizing alternative energy data collection and technology testing activities on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). MMS announced its interim policy in November 2007... Read more →

In a major speech given today at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington DC, former Vice President Al Gore challenged the US to end its reliance on carbon-based fuels and to “commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within 10 years.”... Read more →

Simulation of an Anaconda device in the sea. Click to enlarge. Engineers at the University of Southampton (UK) are embarking on a program of large-scale laboratory experiments and mathematical studies to try to advance the development of a simple wave energy converter concept that promises wave-generated electricity at lower cost.... Read more →

A Verdant turbine being lowered into New York’s East River as part of the RITE project. The Canadian province of Ontario is investing C$2.2 million in the Cornwall Ontario River Energy (CORE) Project in the St. Lawrence River. The goal of the two-phase CORE Project is to develop 15MW of... Read more →

Lunar Energy RTT Turbine. One of the different technology options available for tidal in-stream energy conversion (TISEC). Click to enlarge. Pacific Gas and Electric Company today signed an agreement with the City and County of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Energy Company to conduct the most comprehensive study yet... Read more →

Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) has approved C$48 million (US$43 million) in new funding for projects that develop and demonstrate clean technologies. The 22 newly-approved projects target a wide variety of sectors and include the development of an all-electric urban delivery vehicle, biofuels, fuel-cell powered material handling equipment, wind and... Read more →