The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Wind Energy Technologies Office, is administering the FLoating Offshore Wind ReadINess (FLOWIN) Prize. The FLOWIN Prize is designed to help develop a domestic supply chain and accelerate market readiness of U.S. floating offshore wind energy designs.
The FLOWIN Prize is designed to:
- Advance designs of floating offshore wind turbine platforms for manufacturing
- Improve supply chain readiness to enable mass production and assembly in the United States
- Lower associated costs and risks.
The total FLOWIN prize pool is $5.75 million, plus up to $1.1 million in vouchers for technical support from DOE national laboratories.
Prizes will be divided among multiple awardees, and multiple awards will be made for each phase. Only winning teams will be eligible to compete in the next phase.
Phase One: Qualification and Teaming
In the first phase, teams will show they have a design ready to move toward mass manufacturing. Winners will include teams that have identified commercialization challenges with their floating offshore wind energy platform technology and demonstrate that they can make significant progress toward identifying and developing a supply chain within the United States to produce the technology. Up to eight Phase One winners will each receive $100,000 in cash and $75,000 in technical support vouchers.
In the first phase, teams will show they have a design ready to move toward mass manufacturing. Winners will include teams that have identified commercialization challenges with their floating offshore wind energy platform technology and demonstrate that they can make significant progress toward identifying and developing a supply chain within the United States to produce the technology. Up to eight Phase One winners will each receive $100,000 in cash and $75,000 in technical support vouchers.
Phase Two: U.S. Manufacturing Approaches
Winners from Phase One will be eligible to move into the second competition phase, in which each team will develop a pathway for mass production and assembly of its floating offshore wind energy substructure design. Up to five Phase Two winners will each receive $450,000 in cash and $100,000 in technical support vouchers.
Winners from Phase One will be eligible to move into the second competition phase, in which each team will develop a pathway for mass production and assembly of its floating offshore wind energy substructure design. Up to five Phase Two winners will each receive $450,000 in cash and $100,000 in technical support vouchers.
Phase Three: Detailed Implementation Pathways
The final phase of the competition is open only to Phase Two winners. During Phase Three, each team will complete implementation pathways for the U.S. manufacture and deployment of the team’s floating offshore wind energy technology in a specific U.S. region. Competitors must also indicate how their manufacturing and supply chain development strategies will benefit disadvantaged and underserved communities. Up to three Phase Three winners will each receive $900,000 in cash.
The final phase of the competition is open only to Phase Two winners. During Phase Three, each team will complete implementation pathways for the U.S. manufacture and deployment of the team’s floating offshore wind energy technology in a specific U.S. region. Competitors must also indicate how their manufacturing and supply chain development strategies will benefit disadvantaged and underserved communities. Up to three Phase Three winners will each receive $900,000 in cash.