DOE Announces Winners of Wave Energy-Powered Desalination Prize Competition
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the winners of $1 million in cash prizes in the final stage of the Waves to Water Prize, which challenged competitors to design, build, and test devices that use wave energy to produce clean drinking water from ocean water. Oneka Technologies won the grand prize of $500,000 for its device Oneka Snowflake.
“Competitors in the Waves to Water Prize have demonstrated innovation and creativity in capturing wave-powered energy, and have also demonstrated the additional humanitarian benefits of marine energy as a key resource to increase access to clean drinking water,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Kelly Speakes-Backman. “Renewable, wave energy-powered systems could supply clean water to water-scarce, remote, or island communities that are already particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. These easily shipped desalination systems may also prove to be a crucial lifeline to support resilience and recovery in the face of worsening natural disasters.”