HNEI Overview: A World of Possibilities
Channel: HNEI
Date: 2020-07-09

The Hawai‘i Natural Energy Institute (HNEI), an organized research unit of the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM), conducts research of state and national importance to develop, test, evaluate, and analyze novel renewable energy technologies. The Institute leverages its in-house work with public-private partnerships to demonstrate real-world operations and enable integration of emerging technologies into the energy mix. Founded in 1974, HNEI was established in statute in 2007 to address critical State energy needs.


HNEI employs an integrated approach to developing public/private partnerships and management of projects to reduce Hawai‘i’s dependence on imported energy resources and move the state toward energy self-sufficiency, including projects that: 1) Address critical technical, scientific, and policy barriers to achieving energy self-sufficiency; 2) Emphasize innovative technologies and approaches focusing on environmental attributes, reliability, and affordability; 3) Ensure that technologies and processes developed will be commercially viable; and 4) Give priority to indigenous Hawai‘i resources.