Ocean Observing Prize Competition: USD 2.4 Million Available

The Ocean Observing Prize is looking for solutions to integrating wave energy with autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to create a self-charging ocean observing platform for hurricane monitoring that can remain deployed at sea for months at a time.

The competition closes on 16 February 2021 and consists of three areas of opportunity:

• DESIGN CONTEST: Create plans and models, with up to 10 winners and USD 400,000 in prizes.
• BUILD CONTEST: Develop and test tank a prototype, with up to 5 winners and USD 500,000 in prizes.
• SPLASH CONTEST: Test prototypes at sea, with up to 3 winners and USD 1,500,000 in prizes.

For more information, click here.


Find partners, follow the prize, or apply here.

The Prize is administered by the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory on behalf of the DOE’s Water Power Technologies Office and the Integrated Ocean Observing System program at NOAA. Successful applicants will have access to testing in tanks and at sea, as well as mentoring and coaching support.

The WOC promotes challenge competitions that advance ocean sustainability, science and stewardship as part of the WOC Global Blue Innovation Initiatives Network.

The WOC Global Blue Economy Innovation Initiatives Network is the international forum for the growing number of ocean-sustainability related accelerators, incubators, challenge competitions and startup hubs, and works to:

• Better connect innovation initiatives and their clients, e.g. startups, to the market, i.e. ocean business and industry 
• Increase investment community awareness of the initiatives/organizations and their outputs, i.e. startups, scaleups, etc. by linking Network participants to the WOC Ocean Investor group 
• Increase the focus of innovation initiatives on core sustainable development challenges/issues facing ocean industries  

• Foster communication, coordination and the exchange of best practices among the initiatives and organizations 
• Catalyze synergies among ocean sustainability-related innovation initiatives and organizations
Ocean sustainable development accelerators, incubators, challenge competitions or startup hubs are invited to contact info@oceancouncil.org for information on the Global Blue Innovation Network.