SBIR Phase I: Grid-Scale Marine Renewable Energy Technology Unlocked by Cost Reduction Innovations

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种新的混合模式（风、波、流）海洋能源转换器，旨在改进最先进的海上风力涡轮机设计。该项目将澄清设计规范，目标是具有生产可扩展性的低成本产品。从该解决方案中获益最大的市场包括美国电网、美国偏远岛屿（波多黎各、关岛、夏威夷、美属维尔京群岛）、太平洋和加勒比地区的其他偏远岛屿，以及国防部等应急发电的可调度电源。推进可再生能源转换器的设计和减少海上清洁能源所需的初始投资所带来的环境效益，可能会对美国采用海洋可再生能源的范围和时间表产生积极影响。SBIR第一阶段项目将开发一种高效的能量转换器，通过减轻产品组件的重量、陆上组装、简化安装、降低重心和实现风暴等级，大大降低了每安装单元的成本。当与海上能源储存相结合时，这项技术有可能在比目前可行的更远的海上海域释放能源捕获。该项目建立在最初的概念建模和1/20比例的原型结构基础上，验证了重量/功率比、设备稳定性和商业可行性的综合分析证据。在优化整体设计的同时，保持最终的低成本将是工作计划的主要技术重点，同时还将降低恶劣天气生存能力风险的策略。拟议的研究将分别处理每个组件的设计，重点是降低成本和重量，同时优化强度和输出。通过构建和测试提议的原型，团队将对可扩展性、性能和成本因素进行详细分析，这些因素对商业化至关重要。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop a novel mixed-mode (wind, wave, current) ocean energy converter that aims to be an improvement over the state-of-the-art offshore wind turbine design. This project will clarify design specifications to target a low-cost product with production scalability. Markets with the largest opportunity to benefit from this solution include US grid power, remote US islands (Puerto Rico, Guam, Hawaii, US Virgin Islands), other remote islands in the Pacific and Caribbean, and dispatchable power sources for emergency power generation like the Department of Defense. The environmental benefit of advancing the design of renewable energy converters and reducing the initial investments required by offshore clean energy may positively impact both the scope and the timeline for adoption of ocean renewables in the US.This SBIR Phase I project will develop an efficient energy converter that drastically lowers the cost per installed unit through reduced weight of product components, onshore assembly, simplified installation, a lower center of gravity, and by achieving a storm rating. When coupled with offshore energy storage, this technology has the potential to unlock energy capture in ocean sites further offshore than is presently feasible. This project builds upon initial concept modeling and a 1/20 scale prototype construction, which validates the weight/power ratio, device stability, and comprehensive analytical evidence for commercial feasibility. Keeping the final cost-to-kilowatt low, while optimizing the overall design will be the major technical focus of the work plan, along with mitigating strategies for the risk of severe weather survivability. The proposed research will approach the design of each component individually with a focus on reducing cost and weight, while optimizing strength and output. Through the construction and testing of a proposed prototype, the team will conduct detailed analyses on scalability, performance, and cost factors that are critical for commercialization.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.