Contest II: BUILD

BUILD a Marine Energy Powered System

Following the DESIGN Contest the BUILD Contest provided participating teams with the opportunity to build their early-stage experimental prototypes and test them in the Maneuvering and Seakeeping Basin—also known as the U.S. Navy’s indoor ocean—located at the Naval Surface Warfare Center’s facility in Carderock, Maryland.

During the testing portion of the BUILD Contest, teams assembled and prepared their experimental ocean observing devices, completing a dry and wet check to ensure the devices were safe and ready to go in the water. After each device cleared the checks, the crew placed each prototype one at a time in the test tank. Each prototype weathered a variety of wave conditions and had the opportunity to demonstrate its capabilities through a data-collecting maneuvering mission and a wave-powered recharging session.

Experts evaluated each wave-powered prototype in four categories, including data, maneuverability, power, and mission compliance (like operations, safety, size, and weight). While this technology is still in the early stages of development, these first-generation prototypes not only met testing expectations but also helped identify future research opportunities for marine energy-powered ocean observing platforms.

Congratulations on the BUILD Contest Winners!

The following teams were awarded for their prototypes’ potential to one day power ocean observing technologies:

• Maiden Wave Energy LLC’s Rover (Aberdeen, Maryland) ($275,000)
• Wave Powered Oceanographic Gliders, a partnership between Moye Consultants LLC and Wave Venture (Tallahassee, Florida) ($175,000)
• Kevin Lu’s EEL Drone (Los Angeles, California) ($50,000)

Team Wave Powered Oceanographic Gliders tests their early-stage prototype at the Naval Surface Warfare Center’s facility in Carderock, Maryland. Credit: NREL