Since the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) deployed its first wave-powered desalination device in North Carolina's Outer Banks, WPTO and the lab have been working to make the device's data publicly available on a dedicated webpage.
WPTO and the lab hope to support the development of wave energy systems by making validated designs and proven solutions more accessible for marine energy stakeholders and developers, leading to solutions for communities that need access to both fresh water and reliable clean energy.
Learn more about the device deployments and newly available open-source data.
A Hydraulic and Electric Reverse Osmosis Wave Energy Converter
In less than two years' time, a multidisciplinary research team at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) designed, built, and lab tested a novel technology: the hydraulic and electric reverse osmosis (HERO) wave energy converter (WEC).
The HERO WEC is the first wave-powered system intended for ocean deployment funded by DOE and designed, built, and deployed entirely by a national laboratory.
HERO WEC: Designed and proven to be packable, durable, and dependable. Credit: Andrew Simms, NREL
The device was developed, in part, to de-risk the deployment and retrieval of competitor devices in advance of the April 2022 Waves to Water Prize open-ocean tests held in North Carolina's Outer Banks. By sharing all device documentation publicly via this website, the aim is to lower the barrier to entry for all would-be wave energy innovators.
Device Deployments
Informed by this experience, the NREL team identified possible device failure points and anchoring connection points and determined guidelines for the deployment and installation of both electric and hydraulic systems. The Waves to Water Prize competitors then followed many of these specifications in their device design processes to address these challenges.
Following the completion of the Waves to Water Prize, in August, the NREL-CSI team carried out a subsequent deployment of the HERO WEC. Through this exercise, the team hoped to gain a better understanding of the specific challenges the Waves to Water competitors faced around anchoring and device survivability in shallow water conditions. The team viewed the redeployment as an opportunity to collect data that could be used to validate some of the major modeling assumptions around non-linear hydrodynamics, such as breaking waves.
(L to R): Aryana Nakhai (NREL), Mike Remige (Jennette's Pier Director), and Scott Jenne (NREL) ready the HERO WEC for the crane. Credit: Andrew Simms, NREL
A team of divers and watercraft operators welcomed the HERO WEC to the Atlantic. Credit: Andrew Simms, NREL
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