The U.S. Department of Energy has accepted 92 teams from industry and academia to compete in its Wave Energy Prize program that seeks to encourage the development of wave energy conversion devices.

The program, which was introduced in April by the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy during the National Hydropower Association’s Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., is a design-build-test competition that supports the department’s goal of making marine hydrokinetic generation more competitive with traditional forms of production.

Teams will be competing for a total prize purse that totals more than $2 million.

“We’re extremely pleased with both the quantity of teams and the diversity of participants reflecting broad expertise from so many established companies in the ocean energy space, universities, and newcomers to the industry,” said Julie Zona, Wave Energy Prize administrator.

Since registration for the program closed June 30, teams are working on the first requirement for the prize — a technical submission describing their concepts, which is due later this month. A panel will then select up to 20 of the top teams by mid-August, with those groups invited to build a 1/50th scale model for small-tank testing.

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