DOE waves hello to 2022 MECC contenders

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has unveiled the 17 teams chosen to participate in the 2022 Marine Energy Collegiate Competition: Powering the Blue Economy.

Administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), on behalf of Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE’s) Water Power Technologies Office, the competition challenges interdisciplinary teams of undergraduate and graduate students to propose unique solutions to the burgeoning marine energy industry.

In its third iteration, the Marine Energy Collegiate Competition (MECC) provides real-world experience and industry connections to help prepare next-generation innovators for future careers in the marine energy sector and the blue economy.

For the third competition, teams will have nearly a year to create a business plan and develop, design, and potentially test their renewable energy technologies that support resilient coastal communities and provide power at sea.

The teams that qualified for 2022 MECC include a mix of new and returning universities, along with five international universities spanning the globe from Sao Paulo to Belfast.

This diverse set of universities include coastal locations and land-locked states, smaller universities and much larger ones, and range from California to Massachusetts, Texas to Michigan.

The following teams will compete in the 2022 competition:

• Boise State University
• California State University, San Marcos – partnering with New Mexico State University
• Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
• Michigan Technological University
• North Carolina A&T State University – partnering with University of North Carolina Wilmington
• Oregon State University
• Purdue University
• Texas A&M University at Galveston – partnering with Sam Houston State University, University of Rochester, University of Sao Paulo, Qatar University, and University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila
• University of California, Riverside
• University of Houston
• University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
• University of New Hampshire
• University of North Florida
• University of Washington
• Virginia Tech – partnering with Stevens Institute of Technology
• Virginia Tech – partnering with University of Maine and Queen’s University Belfast
• Webb Institute

“The MECC provides an opportunity for a diversity of experience, education, and perspectives in exploring the possibilities of the blue economy”, said Arielle Cardinal, the MECC operations manager at NREL. “We’re excited to support the 2022 competitors in bringing new ideas and innovations to the forefront of marine energy”.

Kelly Speakes-Backman, acting assistant secretary at EERE, said: “The potential for innovation in the blue economy space is vast. We are excited to see how creative teams will rise to the challenge to develop marine energy technologies that can be sustainably powered to support coastal communities and economies”.