- Show all
- Asset Management
- Buoy
- Canal
- Climate Change
- Controls
- Dam Safety
- Environmental Impact
- Fish and Aquatic Resources
- Future Grid
- Generator
- Governor
- Hydraulic Forecasting
- Hydraulic Optimization
- Hydrokinetic
- Intake Gates
- Markets
- Penstock
- Regulatory Process
- Renewable Integration
- Sediment Transport
- Shoreline and Riparian Resources
- Spillgates
- Tidal
- Transmission Services
- Turbine
- Water Management
- Water Resources
- Water Systems
- Wave
- Marine Energy
FY2017 M3 Wave WEC SIM SBV – SNL
Lead Companies
Sandia National Laboratories
Lead Researcher (s)
- Ryan Coe
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are partnering with M3 Wave, LLC (M3 Wave) to adapt its deep-water modeling tool, NEXUS, to track differential wave energy by re-creating conditions common on the ocean floor. They will provide modeling support to help M3 Wave better understand how the mooring system for its wave energy converter (WEC) contributes to system dynamics. This project was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Small Business Vouchers(SBV) program, which provides clean energy small businesses access to select national laboratories. M3 Wave was also a finalist in theWave Energy Prize, an 18-month design-build-test competition that produced a technology leap in WEC devices. In this project, NREL, SNL, and M3 Wave are developing a more complex modeling system to predict and increase areas of WEC efficiency of up to 25%.
Technology Application
Marine Energy
Research Category
Technology
Research Sub-Category
Wave
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Small or Non Conventional Hydro
Gravity Water Booster
Lead Companies
INGEREC
Lead Researcher (s)
- Guy Sarremejeanne
The Gravity Water Booster (GWB) is a patented new and innovative hydroelectric generating process that mechanically converts kinetic energy into potential energy and requires just two components to operate: the hydraulic cylinder and the Pelton turbine. It is a small civil engineering structure with a volume of roughly 300 m^3. Its operation is based exclusively on the laws of hydraulics as we know them (Pascal's principle, Bernoulli's equation, Archimedes' thrust), its energy efficiency is 80%. It uses the same components as conventional hydroelectricity (concrete, steel, copper, etc.) and requires no complex technology or use of rare earths. It offers an alternative to dams, since its hydraulic efficiency is 15 times greater, and a 10 m column of pressurized water is equivalent to the potential energy of a 156 m column of water. The power generated by a GWB is controllable (i.e pilotable), unlike wind and solar.
Technology Application
Small or Non Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Technology
Research Sub-Category
Hydrokinetic
Status
complete
Completion Date
2022
- Small or Non Conventional Hydro
Ground-Level Integrated Diverse Energy Storage (GLIDES) system
Lead Companies
ORNL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Momen, Ayyoub
This project targets achieving energy storage by pressurizing enclosed air via a liquid piston. The project’s final product will be a prototype, demonstrating the feasibility and the value proposition of the technology.
Technology Application
Small or Non Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Technology
Research Sub-Category
Status
complete
Completion Date
2021
- Marine Energy
H2 Generation from Seawater for MHK Power Storage
Lead Companies
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Lead Researcher (s)
- Kelsey Stoerzinger
Electrocatalytic water splitting is a possible route to the expanded generation of green hydrogen however a long-term challenge is the requirement of fresh water as an electrolyzer feed. The use of seawater as a direct feed for electrolytic hydrogen production would alleviate fresh water needs and potentially open an avenue for locally generated hydrogen from marine hydrokinetic or off-shore power sources. One environmental limitation to seawater electrolysis is the generation of chlorine as a competitive anodic reaction. This work evaluates transition metal (W, Co, Fe, Sn and Ru) doping of Mn-Mo based catalysts as a strategy to suppress chlorine evolution while sustaining catalytic efficiency. Electrochemical evaluations in neutral chloride solution and raw seawater showed the promise of a novel Mn-Mo-Ru electrode system for oxygen evolution effi-ciency and enhanced catalytic activity. Subsequent stability testing in a flowing raw seawater flume highlighted the need for improved catalyst stability for long-term applications of Mn-Mo-Ru catalysts. This work highlights that elements known to be selective toward chlorine evolution in simple-oxide form (e.g. RuO2) may display different trends in selectivity when used as isolated dopants, where here Ru suppressed chlorine evolution in Mn-based catalysts. Adiga P.P., N. Doi, D.M. Santosa, L. Kuo, G.A. Gill, J.A. Silverstein, and N.M. Avalos, et al. 2021. "The Influence of Transitional Metal Dopants on Reducing Chlorine Evolution During the Electrolysis of Raw Seawater." Applied Sciences. PNNL-SA-165321. [Unpublished]
Technology Application
Marine Energy
Research Category
Technology
Research Sub-Category
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Marine Energy
Hybrid Research Vessel to Serve and Represent the next Generation of Blue Economy Technology
Lead Companies
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Lead Researcher (s)
- Skip Kerschner
Technology Application
Marine Energy
Research Category
Technology
Research Sub-Category
Hydrokinetic
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Conventional Hydro
Hydrofleet Cybersecurity Maturity: Spectrum, Trends, and Foundations for Technology Roadmap
Lead Companies
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Lead Researcher (s)
- Marie Whyatt
With this roadmap, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) hopes to assist the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) in improving the cybersecurity of hydropower plants across the nation. This effort draws upon collected data from the dams sector, from industrial control system cybersecurity threat reports, from similar work focused on neighboring sectors, and from frank discussions with owners, operators, and vendors. While remaining tightly focused on the needs of hydropower projects, during this landscape study and development of the resulting roadmap, the research team sought to remain informed by the larger energy sector’s vision and direction so that the topics and milestones may fit within a larger vision common to the whole.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Technology
Research Sub-Category
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Conventional Hydro
Hydropower Storage Capacity Dataset [HydroWIRES]
Lead Companies
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Lead Researcher (s)
- Carly Hansen, hansench@ornl.gov
Accurate descriptions of existing storage capabilities and constraints of conventional hydropower projects are essential for understanding how existing conventional hydropower reservoirs can support grid reliability and transitioning energy sources (i.e., intermittent sources that require substantial storage). This information helps inform flexible plant operation and potential management strategies. Coarse estimates of energy storage can be derived from reservoir-specific volume and elevation characteristics and simple power plant capacities; more realistic and finer-scale estimates must also account for hydrologic variability and hydraulic and operational constraints. This project catalogs and define types of storage (with increasing levels of detail and complexity) and translate these types of storage into MWh and duration of energy generation. Methodologies to estimate fundamental characteristics of reservoirs and their storage capacity and duration will be developed and applied for across the fleet of conventional US hydropower reservoirs, which will enable more comprehensive evaluations of storage and flexibility for a broader suite of hydropower resources.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Technology
Research Sub-Category
Hydraulic Forecasting
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Pumped Storage
Improved Cost Estimates To Boost Pumped Storage Hydropower Construction
Lead Companies
NREL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Daniel Inman
Pumped storage hydropower (PSH) facilities are like large batteries that use water and gravity. They can store up to 12 hours' worth of clean, renewable energy and send that power to the grid the moment it’s needed (for comparison, batteries provide about 4 hours of energy storage). As the United States' power grid evolves, receiving more variable clean energy sources, like solar power and wind energy, PSH plants could play a key role in ensuring that the grid is not only carbon-free but also reliable and resilient. Today, PSH is often overlooked in future grid planning efforts, in part because the cost to build a new facility is not always clear. That’s why the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), along with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office, is developing improved cost estimates and cost models to reduce that uncertainty and give developers the data they need to decide where and when to construct new PSH facilities to support the country’s evolving energy grid."
Technology Application
Pumped Storage
Research Category
Technology
Research Sub-Category
Status
complete
Completion Date
2022
- Link
Inspiring Tomorrow’s Water Power Workforce To Lead the Clean Energy Revolution
Lead Companies
NREL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Arielle Cardinal
Renewable water power, including hydropower and marine energy, will play a key role in building a reliable and flexible 100% clean energy future. That future needs a larger, modern workforce—one that’s more diverse, equitable, and inclusive—to power and improve these technologies. And researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are committed to fostering tomorrow’s water power workforce through science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and workforce development programs. Through events, online resources, and more, the lab aims to engage and inspire students to dive into careers in water power.
Technology Application
Research Category
Technology
Research Sub-Category
Status
complete
Completion Date
2022
- Marine Energy
Intelligent Adaptable Monitoring Package for Marine Renewable Energy Projects
Lead Companies
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Lead Researcher (s)
- Shari Matzner
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will support a technical evaluation of the Intelligent Adaptable Monitoring Package (iAMP) instrumentation package developed by the University of Washington. The evaluation will take place at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Marine Sciences Laboratory, where the instrumentation package will be deployed for an extended endurance test. During the endurance test, the performance will be evaluated using controlled, synthetic targets (drifting instrumented buoys) and naturally occurring marine biota.
Technology Application
Marine Energy
Research Category
Technology
Research Sub-Category
Environmental Impact
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
Don’t see your waterpower research?
Have questions about WaRP?
Contact Marla Barnes at: marla@hydro.org