The US Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded $25m in grants to eight companies, research centres and universities to help bring their wave energy conversion (WEC) systems from the laboratory to open water. at a marine renewables test centre off the US northwest.

Awarded through the DOE’s Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), the funding includes access to Oregon’s PacWave facility, being built seven miles (11km) offshore in the Pacific Ocean.