Company

Dolphin Labs is a spin-out from CalWave, focused on advancing wave-energy conversion through its flagship technology, the xNode. Designed to deliver persistent offshore power for sensors, subsea communications, and autonomous systems, the xNode is helping unlock new frontiers in ocean observing and defense.

Dolphin Labs works closely with partners like the U.S. Navy, U.S. Department of Energy, BC Hydro, and NATO, bridging innovation from the lab to the sea.

SBIR Journey

The company’s origins trace back to CalWave’s Department of Energy SBIR Phase I award, which funded early feasibility studies for the xNode system. Following strong results, the team secured a Phase II award, enabling the transition from prototype to production. With these grants, Dolphin Labs formalized as a spin-out, taking ownership of commercialization efforts and deploying pilot systems with government and utility partners.

Why Forge

“I feel like we’re flying blind and just relying on hopes.”

As Dolphin Labs grew, so did the complexity of managing multi-phase SBIR funding, multiple cost centers, and vendor-heavy projects. Leadership found themselves buried in manual spreadsheets, struggling to connect budgets to actuals and spending five days each month on cost review and reporting. They needed a system built for compliance and clarity — one that could handle grant accounting, DCAA timekeeping, and drawdown prep — all without slowing down innovation.

About Dolphin Labs

Dolphin Labs designs and builds wave-energy converters that transform ocean motion into renewable power. Their modular, low-maintenance systems enable long-term, self-sustaining operations for offshore industries. The xNode platform, developed under DOE SBIR funding, provides scalable solutions for environmental monitoring, naval operations, and maritime data infrastructure — powering devices and missions where traditional energy sources fall short.The Challenge
Managing federally funded R&D across multiple partners and environments introduced several pain points:

• Limited budget visibility: Project leads couldn’t see real-time burn rates or compare planned vs. actual costs.

• Manual reporting: The CEO and CTO spent five days per month consolidating data for DOE and partner reviews.

• Compliance risk: DOE reimbursements required detailed, audit-ready documentation that was slow to compile.

Without a unified system, Dolphin Labs risked delays in reimbursement and reduced agility in project decisions.What They Needed
To keep pace with their technical progress, Dolphin Labs required a financial backbone that could:

• Provide real-time budget insight across multiple SBIR awards.

• Automate cost tracking and allocation across vendors and tasks.

• Ensure DCAA-compliant timekeeping without burdening engineers.

• Generate audit-ready drawdown packages for DOE and partner reviews.

How Forge Helped

Forge implemented a tailored SBIR management workspace that turned grant compliance into a seamless process:

• AI-driven dashboards gave leadership a live view of budgets, forecasts, and task-level performance.

• Automated cost mapping tied transactions directly to SBIR budget lines for instant traceability.

• Slack-based time tracking made daily effort reporting simple, ensuring clean labor documentation.

• Drawdown kits auto-generated monthly packages with ledgers, receipts, and payroll reports — ready for DOE submission.

Forge’s automation replaced manual spreadsheets and reconciliations, giving Dolphin Labs control and confidence over every dollar.Results

• 5+ days saved monthly on manual cost review and reporting.

• 100% compliance-ready documentation for DOE reimbursements.

• Real-time visibility into budgets, burn rates, and forecasts.

• Faster decisions and fewer reporting bottlenecks across projects.

Why It Matters

Wave-energy innovation depends on precision — both in engineering and in operations. With Forge, Dolphin Labs turned grant management from a reactive chore into a strategic advantage. By unifying financials, compliance, and reporting, the team can focus on what matters most: powering the next generation of offshore infrastructure for partners like the U.S. Navy, Department of Energy, and NATO.