Six teams earn $25,000 each for innovative solutions to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species
The Bureau of Reclamation selected the Phase 1 winners of the Halt the Hitchhiker: Invasive Species Challenge. This challenge promotes innovative solutions to prevent aquatic invasive species (AIS) from spreading through watercraft ballast compartments, protecting Reclamation's water delivery and hydropower infrastructure across the Western United States.
Preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species remains one of the most urgent natural resource challenges facing the West. Recreational watercraft are a primary pathway for spreading species such as quagga, zebra, and golden mussels, which can hitchhike between water bodies in small amounts of residual water trapped in ballast systems. Quagga and zebra mussels alone cost more than $1 billion each year nationwide in damage and control efforts. The Halt the Hitchhiker challenge sought novel approaches that can kill, exclude, or inactivate AIS while remaining safe for watercraft, users, and the environment.
The competition is being conducted in three phases. In Phase 1, participants submitted concept papers proposing new methods to inspect or decontaminate watercraft ballast compartments.
The Phase 1 winners, who each receive $25,000, include:
- ClearFill Filtration: Preventing AIS Transport at the Source
- Aegis Bio-Shield Ultra Violet Ballast Decontamination Reactor
- Portable UV Treatment Concept to Reduce Invasive Mussel Transport via Boat Ballast
- PERCOLARO: A Scalable Bio-Based Filtration System for Aquatic Invasive Species Mitigation
- The Bio-Electric Probe(BEP) System
- BallastPure: Integrated Passive Multi-Barrier Ballast Decontamination System
These six winners will move forward to Phase 2 of the competition and will compete for a chance to win up to $150,000 by demonstrating a clear path from concept to engineering design through virtual pitch presentations.
Reclamation partnered with yet2 to manage this competition. For more information on the challenge and its winners, please visit https://haltthehitchhiker.yet2.com/
Reclamation conducts prize competitions to spur innovation by engaging a non-traditional, problem-solver community. Please visit Reclamation's Prize Competition Center to learn more: https://www.usbr.gov/research/challenges/index.html
