Scientific advances and innovation

OPIN WILL ENCOURAGE cross-sectoral and cross-regional collaboration

  • Cross-sectoral collaboration will bring already proven expertise, capabilities and products from other sectors (oil and gas, offshore wind, maritime, etc.) into the offshore renewable sector. This will help to reduce costs and accelerate technology development.
  • Cross-regional collaboration will bring interactions between companies from regions with ocean energy expertise and potential collaborators from regions that are world leaders in other technology fields (offshore wind energy, oil and gas, aerospace, automotive and manufacturing). The network will provide a mechanism to transfer expertise between these regions, addressing the disparities in innovation and economic development across North West Europe.

The scope of the Ocean Power Innovation Network includes:

  • wave, tidal stream, floating offshore wind and hybrid offshore renewable energy systems;
  • subsystems, components, materials, enabling technologies, installation, operations and maintenance, decommissioning, related processes and services; and
  • energy systems and storage solutions, to enable integration of ocean energy.

OPIN will deliver the following supports to encourage both cross-sectoral and cross-regional collaboration:

  • Annual Symposiums: providing networking opportunities for OPIN members
  • Workshops: to facilitate knowledge transfer between the project partner regions and to simulate the growth of the network.
  • Masterclasses: apply to get dedicated training and enhance your knowledge
  • Technology Assessment Processes (TAPs): assessments allowing SMEs to benchmark their technologies, map structured development paths and identify potential collaborators.
  • Collaborative Innovation Groups (CIGs): clusters of SMEs, working with research entities or large companies to solve problems identified as barriers to the ocean energy sector.

 

Register on the following link Become a member of OPIN to benefit from these services!

Stay informed of upcoming events:

Event list also available on the OPIN website.

Expected technical and economic impact

The Ocean Power Innovation Network plans to support over 100 companies over the lifetime of the project. Additionally, the OPIN network will continue to grow and be a mechanism for the transfer of expertise beyond the life of the project.

WEAMEC is coordinating the establishment of a EUROPEAN SME network

Within OPIN, WEAMEC is responsible for creating and managing a European network of SMEs which work or could work in the MRE sector.  This network will be open to SMEs, but also to associate members (research organizations, large companies, public organizations) to encourage cross-sector interaction to develop European projects and reinforce international presence.

 

Key project milestones

  • 30 January 2019 - Kick Off Meeting
  • 30 June 2022 - End of the project