WATER SCARCITY IS AMONG THE GREATEST CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY. ONEKA TECHNOLOGIES HAS AN AMBITIOUS MISSION: MAKING THE OCEANS A SUSTAINABLE AND AFFORDABLE SOURCE OF FRESHWATER. ONEKA TECHNOLOGIES IS COMBINING THE OCEAN’S SEAWATER WITH ITS OWN WAVE ENERGY TO PROVIDE FRESHWATER TO COASTAL AND VULNERABLE POPULATIONS AND INDUSTRIES WITHOUT COMPROMISING THE ENVIRONMENT. OUR SOLUTION INCREASES RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE WHILE REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND WATER COSTS. ONEKA DESALINATION BUOYS HAVE VERSATILE APPLICATIONS AND CAN PROVIDE FRESH WATER TO A VARIETY OF ENTITIES LOCATED IN COASTAL REGIONS. THE TECHNOLOGY PROPOSED IN THIS PROJECT IS A SMALL SCALE AND RAPIDLY DEPLOYABLE WAVE-POWERED DESALINATION DEVICE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR EMERGENCY RELIEF APPLICATIONS. THE PRODUCT IS NAMED ICECUBE. THE CONCEPT IS AN ADVANCED FOLLOW ON OF ONE THAT ONEKA FIRST DEVELOPED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY'S WAVE TO WATER (W2W) PRIZE. THE ICECUBE PROJECT WILL FURTHER OPTIMIZE A NUMBER OF SYSTEMS AND SUBSYSTEMS IN TERMS OF PERFORMANCE, COST, RELIABILITY, EASE OF DEPLOYMENT AND MANUFACTURABILITY, ULTIMATELY BRINGING THIS CLASS OF WAVE-POWERED DESALINATION BUOY TO COMMERCIAL READINESS. THE ICECUBE DESALINATION BUOY IS A POINT-ABSORBER WAVE-ENERGY CONVERTER THAT IS INTENDED TO BE ASSEMBLED AND INSTALLED ONSITE, ADAPTS TO MOST OCEAN CONDITIONS, AND IS DESIGNED TO PRODUCE UP TO 1 CUBIC METER (1000L) OF POTABLE WATER PER DAY DEPENDING ON WAVE RESOURCE (ENOUGH FOR ABOUT 400 PEOPLE). THIS PROJECT OUTLINES AN ITERATIVE DESIGN, BUILD, TEST PROGRAM OF THE ICECUBE THAT FOCUSES ON THE DESIGN, ENGINEERING, FABRICATION OF ICECUBE PROTOTYPE DEVICES. IT ALSO INCLUDES LONG TERM TESTING OF ICECUBE PRODUCTS AND SUBSYSTEMS IN ITS INTENDED OPERATING ENVIRONMENT AS WELL AS IN CONTROLLED BENCH SCALE STUDIES. THIS PROJECT WILL ENABLE ONEKA TO MORE ACCURATELY ASSESS THE ICECUBE’S RELIABILITY AND DURABILITY, AS WELL AS SUPPORT THE REFINEMENT OF DEPLOYMENT, RETRIEVAL AND ONGOING OPERATIONS. THIS PROJECT WILL IMPROVE THE TECHNICAL AND MARINE OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF THE ICECUBE SYSTEM BY DEVELOPING AND/OR MODIFYING SPECIFIC SYSTEMS OR SUBSYSTEMS TOWARDS GREATER COMMERCIAL READINESS, WHILE ENSURING THEY CONTINUE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF WATER VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES. IT WILL ALSO SUPPORT THE REDUCTION OF THE CAPITAL COST OF THE ICECUBE SYSTEM WHILE MAINTAINING TARGET WATER PRODUCTION OF 1 METER CUBED PER DAY. THE INTENDED BENEFICIARIES OF THIS PROJECT INCLUDE VULNERABLE WATER SCARES COMMUNITIES IN THE UNITED STATES AND OTHER REGIONS, WHO INCREASINGLY ARE EXPERIENCING WATER SHORTAGES AS A RESULT OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND POPULATION GROWTH.