The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) is leading the Ocean Power Innovation Network (OPIN) project which aims to accelerate the development of the ocean energy sector.
The €2.6 million pan-European initiative will run for three years.
SEAI will partner with organisations in the UK, Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands to explore ways to unlock the potential of this renewable energy resource.
Interreg North West Europe from the European Research and Development Fund (ERDF) is contributing €1.5 million of OPIN’s funding.
OPIN project partners working with SEAI include Scottish Enterprise and the UK Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, Sirris in Belgium, the West Atlantic Marine Energy Community and Ecole Centrale de Nantes in France, the Dutch Marine Energy Centre (Netherlands) and Fraunhofer in Germany.
Commenting on the launch, Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Richard Bruton, said: “We are stepping up our ambition on renewables as part of the all of government Climate Plan, and will be targeting 70% for renewable electricity by 2030.”
Bruton added, “Projects like OPIN that enable European collaboration are critical to us unlocking opportunities to advance the development of our ocean energy sector.”
OPIN will encourage collaboration between the ocean energy sector and other sectors, such as oil and gas, automotive, aerospace, ICT, advanced materials, sensors, and manufacturing, to identify ways to grow the ocean energy supply chain.
SEAI is inviting small businesses with expertise that can be used in the ocean sector to join OPIN.
SEAI chief executive Jim Gannon said: “The basic premise of OPIN is to encourage cross-sectoral and cross-regional collaboration for offshore renewable energy SMEs.
“This will bring proven expertise, capabilities and products into the ocean energy sector. As we work to remove barriers to offshore renewable energy development, OPIN will help to reduce costs and accelerate both technology and market development.”
A series of events will be hosted in partner countries this year, beginning with a symposium in Dublin in September.
Any businesses who are members of the project can attend the events. In addition, OPIN will assess technologies presented by members to benchmark their potential for success, identify potential collaborators, and grants for collaborative groups of small and medium enterprises.