Highlighted Projects

In support of the marine energy industry, the Center is continuously engaged in research, development, demonstration, and outreach projects. The list below represents a selection of these activities, illustrating the diversity and impact of our assistance to the industry sector.

U.S. Ocean Current Marine Energy Test Facility Feasibility Assessment

Gabriel Alsenas (PI/PD)
DOE-EE0010985

This project will prepare a preliminary feasibility study for a U.S. grid-connected ocean current test facility to evaluate Current Energy Converters (CECs) in the open ocean offshore Palm Beach County, Florida. Prototype testing is essential to mature existing technologies, validate performance against analytic models, demonstrate compliance with applicable design standards, and mitigate the technical and financial risk of developing projects for the utility grid market. The objective of this project is to perform a preliminary investigation of the technical, economic, social, and regulatory challenges involved in constructing an offshore facility for test and demonstration of CECs.

Ocean Current Resource Assessment and Prediction

James VanZwieten (PI), Yufei Tang and Gabriel Alsenas (Co-PIs)
DOE-EE0011382

The U.S. ocean current resource will be quantified, and ocean current prediction tools will be developed. To quantify the ocean current resource, the North Atlantic Ocean will be modeled, and energy extraction will be incorporated into this model. The energy assessment process will then be considered in three stages: theoretical, technical, and practical. For ocean current prediction, a 3D operational tool will be developed that aggregates satellite data and sparse current velocity data using a data fusion approach to conduct forecasts of both the surface and subsurface ocean current velocities.

OESI

Real-Time Monitoring and Visualization System for Marine Energy Devices

Yufei Tang (PI), James VanZwieten, Jia Mi, Xingpeng Li (Co-PIs)
N/A

This project will develop a prognostic condition monitoring (PCM) system using real-time sensor data, advanced signal processing, and deep learning for marine energy systems' cognitive detection and prediction. The system will enable online device health monitoring, anomaly detection, and degradation rate assessment to support timely maintenance. Importantly, the PCM approach will rely primarily on existing control system data, eliminating the need for additional sensors and ensuring a low-cost, nonintrusive solution. In parallel, a novel data visualization dashboard will be developed by integrating PowerGPT, a patented tool that combines a large language model (LLM) and cloud-based analytics to provide intuitive, user-friendly insights.

Mid-Scale (10-20 MW) Ocean Thermal System Design, Optimization, and Evaluation

James VanZwieten (PI), Yufei Tang and Gabriel Alsenas (Co-PIs)
DOE-EE0011382

This project will perform detailed system design, modeling, optimization, and feasibility analyses to quantify the potential for electrical power production from ocean thermal resources and the associated cost of energy. To achieve this goal, a closed-cycle ocean thermal energy conversion plant design will be developed that can be implemented on a floating platform. Electrical power production will then be calculated, and system optimization will be performed to tune component sizes and pumping rates. Power production statistics from these optimized systems will be calculated and mapped globally.

Marine Energy Microgrid Integration with Hydrogen Generation

Yufei Tang (PI), James VanZwieten, Eduard Muljadi, Tianqi Hong (Co-PIs)
DOE-EE0011382

This project advances the integration of marine energy and hydrogen production (ME-H2) to address challenges in energy storage, transport, and grid resilience. While wind and solar systems are well understood and controllable, marine energy, especially with array dynamics, remains more complex. Its deployment in weak grids can cause voltage and frequency instability. Additionally, marine resources are often remote from demand centers, creating challenges for efficient energy delivery. By converting marine energy into hydrogen, this project enables scalable storage and transport, unlocking the potential of ME-H2 to support coastal communities and enhance grid resilience.