Innovating Distributed Embedded Energy Prize

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) is launching the Innovating Distributed Embedded Energy Prize (InDEEP) to encourage innovation in distributed embedded energy converter technology (DEEC-Tec, pronounced “deck tech”) to generate new, precommercial materials for wave energy conversion. This prize will challenge innovators from within and beyond wave energy to design and develop novel materials for marine energy applications that will lay the foundation for generating electricity at the grid scale. 

This three-phase, two-year competition is offering a combined cash prize pool up to $2.3 million. Teams will also receive technical support, teaming support, and other forms of mentorship throughout the prize to enable their success.

Wave energy is the most abundant and geographically varied marine energy resource in the United States. The total available wave energy resource in the United States is equivalent to approximately 34% of all U.S. power generation in 2019.

InDEEP seeks innovations that blend materials and renewable energy research to help convert wave energy to usable electricity. This prize is the first step in exploring DEEC-Tec’s potential for ocean wave energy conversion. 

Competitors will use innovative methods to identify DEEC-Tec components and materials that have high techno-economic potential for wave energy converters. Successful concepts developed through this prize are those that show the greatest techno-economic potential to contribute to grid-scale power systems. 

Prize Goals 

• Leverage WEC innovation methods to systematically develop DEEC-Tec concepts that could bring value to the ocean wave energy conversion industry. 
• Build a solver community by engaging and facilitating collaboration between innovators inside and outside the marine energy industry and related DEEC-Tec disciplines. 
• Encourage development of novel DEEC-Tec concepts with high potential relevant to ocean wave energy conversion by supporting an interdisciplinary set of competitors as they move from ideation to design.
• Refine wave energy converter innovation methods to incorporate ideas from beyond the field of wave energy based on feedback from the prize.

Phase I: Team Building/Engagement and Concept Creation

Phase I engages interdisciplinary teams to develop novel DEEC-Tec concepts and methodologies. This phase familiarizes participants with DEEC-Tec, ocean wave energy, and how to integrate these two applications to find new potential solutions. Teams create an initial concept, submit a brief technical narrative representing their idea and the innovation process that led them to the proposed solution, and complete a simplified Phase I version of a Technology Performance Level assessment to represent the techno-economic performance level of the concept. Up to 20 teams can each win up to $15,000 in cash awards.

Phase II: Simple Prototype Proof-of-Concept

Phase II provides a pathway for competitors to build and test their concepts at the individual DEEC level by demonstrating the DEEC's energy transducer and structural mechanisms. Teams build and test in a laboratory, or other physical setting, a single DEEC at the bench-top scale. The test assesses the dynamic operational ranges of the designs and their general performance. This phase is the final opportunity for new teams to enter and add new members. Up to 15 teams can each win up to $80,000 in cash awards.

Phase III: Complex Prototype (Design Optimization)

Phase III focuses on developing pre-commercial prototypes and materials. This phase challenges successful teams from Phase II to demonstrate their individual DEECs as DEEC-Tec metamaterials. This stage requires teams to interconnect and integrate their individual DEEC prototypes from the first stage, and to ultimately demonstrate the resulting functionality of their metamaterial. Participants will also apply the full Technology Performance Level assessment to their DEEC-Tec metamaterial design(s) to determine how much energy could be converted and, correspondingly, the techno-economic potential of their design(s). Up to four teams can each win up to $200,000 in cash awards.

Who can participate?

This prize aims to engage distributed embedded energy conversion experts from a wide variety of fields and disciplines, like piezoelectrics, polymers, and actuators. Innovators within and beyond the wave energy industry are encouraged to create and join multidisciplinary teams in designing and completing proof-of-concept testing of DEEC-Tec concept(s) that are applicable to ocean wave energy conversion. 

To ensure success regardless of knowledge or background in marine energy, competitors will receive multiple types of support throughout the prize, including training in innovation methods, connections with commercialization mentors, and an introduction to marine renewable energy. 

Please see the official prize rules for participant eligibility and resource materials.

Leaderboard

The leaderboard is a representation of engagement throughout Phase II. The final scores represented on the public-facing leaderboard will contribute directly to the final numerical score a competitor receives on their submission. Individual scoring components are included in the official prize rules, and teams can receive up to 5 points per scoring criteria, for a maximum of 15 additional points, that will be calculated and weighted into final scores for their appropriate category. 

Specific engagement activities will be offered and updates will be shared on the leaderboard as teams complete these activities. Teams will not earn points for leaderboard activities prior to completing the initial eligibility confirmation on HeroX. It is the responsibility of the team to notify the prize administrator to transition points to another team, should teams pursue partnerships and a change in the team captain whose name is associated with these engagement changes.