Date: Jun 03, 2015 Source: SBIR.gov (
click here to go to the source)
SBIR/STTR SUCCESS
MAKAI OCEAN
ENGINEERING
In 2000, a Navy SBIR topic was seeking an improvement in the way underwater cables
were laid on the ocean floor. Makai's response was a faster, more accurate and cost
saving method that evolved into not only a Phase III contract with the Navy, but also
a sought-after international commercial product. This was the time when the Internet
was flourishing, and telecom companies needed an improved method to lay submarine
fiberoptic cables. The installation software is called MakaiLay, and it has become the
company's most successful project to date.
"This was a perfectly matched commercial application for the software that we developed
with the help of the Navy SBIR program," explains Duke Hartman, Vice President of
Business Development at Makai. "The real beauty of SBIR is that it took the risk out of
the early R&D work, and that has opened up a new platform of technologies that we
otherwise would not have had the capital or the risk tolerance to undertake."
A second area in which Makai has been working is renewable energy. Specifically, its
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion technology (OTEC) takes the ocean's warm and
cold waters and generates electricity from the thermal gradients. Sponsored primarily
by the Navy, the goal is to provide a stable flow of renewable electricity that does not
need a separate energy storage system. Unlike some renewables, ocean thermal energy
is available 24/7 year-round, and has the potential to power 4 times man's electricity
needs. While Makai's work with OTEC dates back to 1979, this project began as a Navy
SBIR in 2006, when the Navy was looking for ideas on how to power its various island
bases. They knew if they could develop an offshore floating OTEC plant, they could have
consistent, renewable, utility grade power. This concept made it all the way through Phase
PHASE III SUCCESS:
Over $35 million in Phase III revenue
stemming from the original Navy
SBIR-funded technology
AGENCIES
DOD (NAVY), DOE
SNAPSHOT
~50% of revenue is from
commercial sector; the company's
patented technology, MakaiLay, is
the #1 subsea cable installation
software in the world and used by
over 75% of subsea cable ships
worldwide.
MAKAI OCEAN ENGINEERING
Makai Research Pier
41-305 Kalanianaole Highway
Waimanalo, Hawaii 96795
makai@makai.com
808.259.8871
T iming is everything when it comes to the success of a small business. In Makai's case,
developing a technology to lay subsea cables right at the forefront of the Internet boom
proved to be the perfect combination of timing and resourceful ingenious. With 98% of the
world's international telecommunications traveling through cables laid on the seafloor, it is
critical that the process is one that will preserve the integrity of the cables, as well as provide a rapid and
accurate means of installation. The team at Makai had long been conducting ocean engineering projects
since the company was founded in 1973.
98% of international
telecommunications
travel through
subsea cables on the
ocean floor, making
the success and
efficiency of their
installation a vital
component of the
process.
III, and Makai is working with both the Office of Naval Research and the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute to make this goal a reality. In
August 2015, the largest operational OTEC plant in the world, built by Makai, will connect to the grid.
Along with underwater cables and OTEC, Makai is focusing on another business area that is being heavily invested in by the Navy.
A 2012 SBIR Phase I marked the start of development for Makai's underwater vehicle program, and since then has generated
approximately $3.4 million in additional funding. This autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), developed in tandem with the University
of Hawaii, will be used to lay cables on the seafloor without a tether and without assisted navigation. It effectively deploys seafloor
sensing units by combining features of a free-swimming AUV and those of a bottom-crawling vehicle. This Bottom-Skimming AUV,
appropriately called B-SAUV, is propelled by thrusters but can touch, glide along, and interact with the seafloor by adjusting its wet
weight and buoyancy. The project is currently in a Phase II.5, and Makai plans to continue to manufacture vehicle components inhouse
through the prototype phase.
It seems fitting that a company so centered on the ocean set up shop in the picturesque state of Hawaii. The company was
launched there because of the rich underwater habitat research that was going on in the seventies. Since then it has diversified to a
wide range of hardware and software projects in the ocean.
"One large customer that has provided several new opportunities for us has been the Natural Energy Lab of Hawaii Authority or
NELHA," added Hartman. "They own several of the largest and deepest seawater intake pipes in the world, all of which were
designed by Makai. That gave us a lot of experience in ocean engineering and designing pipelines, which has allowed us to spin off
new technology into other industries. Not to mention providing the ideal test bed for our OTEC plant!"
In Honolulu, Makai is working on a relatively new technology -- Seawater Air Conditioning (SWAC), in which cold air conditioning for
buildings is made from deep ocean water. They are the offshore engineers for a $250 million commercial project with the goal of
providing air conditioning via SWAC to all of downtown Honolulu.
With government enthusiasm, partnerships with local businesses, and its own internal expertise and persistence, Makai is continuing to
push boundaries and fittingly, lay the groundwork for the next generation of ocean innovation.
LEFT: Makai's novel autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) effectively deploys seafloor sensing equipment by combining features of a freeswimming
AUV and those of a bottom crawling vehicle.
RIGHT: Makai's patented subsea installer and software package ensures efficient installation of subsea cables, creating a cost-saving and longlasting
process that is used by over 75% of the world's subsea cable ships.
