The advantage of using technology
performance level (TPL) in conjunction with technology
readiness level (TRL) assessments in guiding technology
development trajectories to successful outcomes in less
time, at less overall cost, and with less encountered risk has
been well articulated in the literature. In partnership with
industry and international collaborators, a TPL assessment
methodology for grid-connected wave energy farms has
been developed by applying a systems engineering
approach. Metrics under seven different categories have
been developed, weighted based on their relative relevance,
and combined to yield a composite score. The methodology
has been implemented in a spreadsheet tool plus a web
application specifically aimed at assessing early-stage (TRL
1–3) concepts. The target use cases are (1) technology
developers improving their design to find fatal flaws early,
get feedback on current design, and identify areas of
improvement that will yield the highest return on
investment; (2) reviewers assessing technologies in
competitions or making funding decisions; (3) investors or
project developers doing due diligence; and
(4) policymakers landscaping the technology domain for
formulating research and development strategy. The
methodology is also being adapted for assessing wave
energy converters servicing markets outside the continental
grid—broadly categorized as Powering the Blue Economy
(PBE) applications. This paper presents the latest status of
the TPL assessment methodology and tools, and describes
(at a high level) how the methodology could be adapted to
select PBE markets or extended to other domains where it
could provide a comprehensive and holistic measure of a
nascent or disruptive technology’s techno-economic
performance potential.
