Press release: MaRINET2 awards €1.3m to develop the next-generation of offshore renewables
The MaRINET2 project has awarded €1.3m to 34 technology development teams through a competitive call for proposals. This support will accelerate the next generation of offshore renewable energy technologies towards the marketplace by providing technology testing at MaRINET2’s network of world-leading testing facilities.
Coordinated by MaREI (Marine and Renewable Energy Ireland) in University College Cork, MaRINET2 is a €10.5m project, funded by the European Commissions’ Horizon 2020 programme. The project provides support to technology developers of offshore wind, wave and tidal to test their devices in research facilities and in real sea conditions. It is a continuation of the highly successful MaRINET project which ran from 2011 – 2015.
The awards were made after the first in a series of competitive calls for proposals for fully funded access to the 57 test infrastructures in the MaRINET2 network. Through this first call, €1.3m of support was awarded to 34 number of technology development teams. The support will facilitate nearly 500 days of state-of-the-art testing at 20 facilities around Europe.
Dr Jimmy Murphy, co-ordinator of MaRINET2 said the announcement would be a significant boost to the development of offshore renewable energy technology in Europe:
“In order to bring their product to market, it is essential for technology developers to de-risk their technologies through rigorous and staged testing programmes. With today’s announcement, the MaRINET2 project is supporting 34 technology developers to do just that.
What’s more, by helping technology developers test at facilities across the EU, and encouraging knowledge sharing and collaboration, MaRINET2 is strengthening Europe’s position as a centre of excellence for offshore renewable energy research”.
Applicants can find out about the status of their application by logging into the MaRINET2 application portal.
About MaRINET2
MaRINET2 is a €10.5m project funded by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme, and coordinated by the MaREI (Marine and Renewable Energy Ireland) Centre in University College Cork. The project will accelerate the development of offshore renewable energy technologies by providing free-of-charge access to a network of 57 research facilities across Europe. Access will be granted through a series of competitive calls for applicants. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 731084.
If you’d like to discuss MaRINET2 opportunities at EMEC, please contact Oliver Wragg: oliver.wragg@emec.org.uk or call +44(0)1856 852060
