The UNC Charlotte's student marine energy team, Duck Duck Goose, has been named as one of 23 winning teams to compete in the 2025 Marine Energy collegiate Competition (MECC) by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Water Power Technologies Office. Dr. Saffeer Khan, CLEANcarolinas' Co-Project Director, serves as the UNC Charlotte team's Faculty Advisor.

The annual competition seeks to engage and educate students about real-world challenges in the marine sector and to explore career opportunities in water power. "Our Marine Energy Collegiate Competition calls on the next generation to help these resources fulfill their potential in the clean energy transition," said Matthew Grosso, WPTO acting director. "We look forward to seeing the creative and innovative water power concepts these students develop throughout the year."

The 2025 MECC asks teams to integrate marine energy with blue economy applications such as ocean exploration, aquaculture, and desalination. After identifying a promising blue economy market, teams will design a marine energy-powered device to serve that market. Each team will be assigned a marine energy mentor and compete in four challenges.