TO ADVANCE THE MARINE ENERGY INDUSTRY, THIS PROJECT AIMS TO INCREASE THE LEVEL OF IMPACTFUL MARINE ENERGY R&D, BOLSTER MARINE ENERGY-RELEVANT TESTING INFRASTRUCTURE, DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A SERIES OF SHORT COURSES, AND DEVELOP A STRATEGIC VISION AND OPERATING STRATEGY FOR THE HAWAI’I MARINE ENERGY CENTER (HMEC), IN COLLABORATION WITH THE OTHER THREE NATIONAL MARINE ENERGY CENTERS (NMECS). TO SUPPORT MARINE ENERGY DEVELOPERS AND ACCELERATE THE TRANSITION OF MARINE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES TO MARKET, THIS PROJECT WILL LEVERAGE EXPERTISE AND RESOURCES IN HAWAI’I, PROVIDING ACCESS TO THE FACILITIES AND EXPERTS NEEDED TO TEST AND ADVANCE THESE TECHNOLOGIES. HMEC WILL EXPLORE ALL APPLICATIONS OF MARINE ENERGY, WITH A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON WAVE ENERGY, AND AN EMPHASIS ON HAWAII, PACIFIC ISLANDS, AND REMOTE COMMUNITIES. TO ADDRESS PROJECT OBJECTIVES, HMEC WILL FOCUS ON THE FOLLOWING FOUR TASKS AND SUBTASKS: • TASK 1. SHORT COURSE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION, RESULTING IN THE DELIVERY OF THREE SHORT COURSES – IN 2026, 2027, AND 2028. • TASK 2. NMEC STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION, RESULTING IN AN HMEC STRATEGIC PLAN THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH WPTO PRIORITIES AND COMPLEMENTARY TO THE VISIONS OF THE OTHER NMECS. • TASK 3. R&D TO SUPPORT ADVANCEMENT OF THE MARINE ENERGY INDUSTRY: • TASK 3.1. WEC POWER OPTIMIZATION USING CONTROL THEORY, RESULTING IN THE THOROUGH INVESTIGATION OF WEC CONTROLS AS APPLIED TO TWO DIFFERENT WEC TYPES. • TASK 3.2. COUPLED FLUID-STRUCTURE-SOIL INTERACTION (FSSI) DESIGN FOR MARINE ENERGY FOUNDATIONS, RESULTING IN THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE SCIENCE AROUND FIXING MARINE ENERGY DEVICES TO THE SEABED. • TASK 3.3. CLIMATE CYCLE ANALYSIS FOR MONTHLY TO SEASONAL WAVE FORECASTING, PRODUCING TOOLS TO ALLOW LONGER-TERM FORECASTS OF WAVE CONDITIONS BASED ON CLIMATE CYCLES. • TASK 3.4. NON-HYDROSTATIC MODELING TO ASSESS FAR-FIELD IMPACTS OF WECS, YIELDING A DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF THE DOWNSTREAM EFFECTS OF WAVE ENERGY DEVICES AND ARRAYS. • TASK 3.5. OPTIMIZATION OF HYDRAULIC CHARACTERISTICS IN PUMPED STORAGE APPLICATION IMPLEMENTED IN AN OSCILLATING SURGE WEC, RESULTING IN A THOROUGHLY MODELED AND LABORATORY TESTED HIGH-FLOW HYDRAULIC PTO. • TASK 4. IMPROVEMENTS TO INFRASTRUCTURE OR TEST FACILITIES, ENHANCING HMEC’S ABILITY TO CONDUCT AND SUPPORT MARINE ENERGY TESTING, WITH AN EMPHASIS ON WAVE ENERGY.