Testing Expertise and Access for Marine Energy Research Program

Starts: Wed, Oct 7, 2020 12:00 PM CST
Ends: Wed, Oct 7, 2020 1:00 PM CST
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The US Department of Energy, Water Power Technologies Office has initiated the U.S. Testing Expertise and Access for Marine Energy Research (TEAMER) Program. The three-year program supports testing and research for marine energy technologies and will provide access to test facilities and technical expertise to assist with numerical modeling and data collection in operational and extreme conditions.

Marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) device developers often face the challenge of raising the needed capital for laboratory and tank testing, which slows the pace of design iterations required to reduce levelized cost of energy. Pacific Ocean Energy Trust (POET) will manage the $10 million awarded through the funding opportunity by distributing funding to TEAMER’s network of facilities, providing access to testing infrastructure and reducing testing costs for MHK device developers. The program will be a collaborative effort that includes universities, established DOE National Laboratories and National Marine Renewable Energy Centers. Providing world-class research and testing expertise will facilitate technology development progress, resulting in additional validated designs in the MHK pipeline and transfer capacity to the private sector.

POET and the Society for Underwater Technologies - US (SUT-US) established a collaboration to aid in the establishment of the U.S Department of Energy’s TEAMER Program. Under this agreement, SUT-US will provide support to POET to expand the TEAMER Test Facility Network. Join us to this FREE webinar to learn more about this collaboration, and how your company/institution can get invoved.

Hosted by SUT-US President & Chair of the Executive Board:

Dr. Zenon Medina-Cetina, Associate Professor, Texas A&M University (TAMU)

Dr. Zenon Medina-Cetina is Associate Professor at Texas A&M University (TAMU) in the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering and holds joint appointments in the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering, the Department of Ocean Engineering, and the Department of Geography. At TAMU he leads the Stochastic Geomechanics Laboratory (SGL) conducting research in probabilistic applications in engineering to improve current practices on risk assessment and management related to natural and anthropogenic threats, to map their associated social, economic and environmental impacts. At TAMU he leads the largest and most active international faculty driven project called the "Yucatan Initiative Project" a collaboration between Texas A&M and Yucatan’s System of Research, and Technological Development (SIIDETEY) in Mexico, developing research, academic, and service projects to generate well-being and sustainable regional economic development for both countries and regions. His research and consulting interests in Offshore Site Investigation and Geotechnics include Risk Mapping for Geospatial Systems; Risk, Reliability and Sensibility Analysis; Probabilistic Site Characterization for Integrated Studies (Geology, Geophysics and Geotechnical); and Uncertainty Quantification of Multi-Physics Geomechanical Processes.

Panelists:

Matthew Sanders, TEAMER Network Director

Matt Sanders is the Program Director for the Pacific Ocean Energy Trust (POET). Matt current priority at POET involves leading the US Department of Energy’s TEAMER Program. He also serves as Secretary of the Marine Energy Council. Matt has an undergrad in forest sciences from Colorado State University with an MBA from Portland State University.

The Testing Expertise and Access for Marine Energy Research (TEAMER™) program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and directed by the Pacific Ocean Energy Trust (POET), will provide marine energy technology developers and researchers with access to the U.S.'s leading research facilities through 2-3 annual open funding calls over each of the next three years. Over this time, TEAMER plans to distribute approximately $9 million through the periodic competitive opportunities (known as Requests for Technical Support, RFTSs) to support marine renewable energy (MRE) testing and development projects. Learn more at www.teamer-us.org.

Jennifer Garson, Senior Advisor in the Water Power Technologies Office - U.S. Department of Energy

Jennifer is a Senior Advisor in the Water Power Technologies Office in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), where she supports research and development in hydropower and marine renewable energy, and leads the office's Powering the Blue Economy initiative. She focuses on increasing the impact of federal funding for supporting innovation, including leveraging nontraditional financial mechanisms. This includes increasing the utilization of prizes, creative lab-directed funding, SBIR/STTRs, and other competitive solicitations. Over the last decade, she has worked across DOE, the federal government, and in partnership with the private sector to launch and create new programs, prizes, and commercialization approaches for blue economy and cleantech technologies and applications. She has served multiple roles at DOE, including as the Chief of Staff for the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Renewable Power in EERE, a Senior Open Innovation Advisor for the DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions, and a Program Manager in EERE’s Technology to Market office. Jennifer earned her B.A. in Anthropology and Environmental Studies Concentration at Kenyon College and her Master of Public Policy at George Washington University.

Jennifer's talk will cover Powering the Blue Economy:

The Powering the Blue Economy™ initiative seeks to understand the power requirement of emerging coastal and maritime markets and advance technologies that could integrate marine renewable energy to relieve these power constraints and promote economic growth. The initiative was launched in 2019, and over the last two years has included a portfolio of foundational research, market research, targeted funding for small businesses, and prize competitions. This presentation will include information on the current portfolio and ways to get engaged and involved. More on Powering the Blue Economy can be found here:https://www.energy.gov/eere/water/powering-blue-economy-exploring-opportunities-marine-renewable-energy-maritime-markets

Jason Busch, POET Executive Director