Background
The OPIN Annual Symposium 2021 was held online on 23/09/21, followed by a face-to-face networking event “Interreg synergy for marine renewables – Accelerate your business with OPIN, MEA, FAN-BEST, BLUE-GIFT, Ocean DEMO, and AFLOWT“.
Both events were organised by WEAMEC during SEANERGY 2021 as part of the Ocean Power Innovation Network (OPIN) project, financially supported by Interreg North West Europe.
OPIN Annual Symposium
The OPIN Annual Symposium started by a presentation from SEAI and WEAMEC highlighting the membership growth (440 members) and 10 events organised in 2021, while reminding the supports available to the OPIN members.
Then, a particular focus was made by ORE Catapult on the Technology Assessment Process (TAP), illustrated by a testimony from CrackMap, a rising company who benefitted from this service.
The next session covered Collaborative Innovation Groups (CIG), introduced by Scottish Enterprise and illustrated by a CIG on Corrosion Monitoring led by Sirris. Aquatera presented complementary examples of CIGs addressing various floating solar issues.
The symposium ended with an in-depth presentation from Optimat on the long-term network sustainability. The attendees could vote on their preferred option for the future of OPIN after 2022.
The symposium recording and all presentations are available at the bottom of the page.
Interreg synergy for marine renewables – Accelerate your business with OPIN, MEA, FAN-BEST, BLUE-GIFT, Ocean DEMO, and AFLOWT
After the symposium, a networking cocktail was organised on WEAMEC/Pays de la Loire booth during SEANERGY 2021. The event gathered European projects supporting offshore renewables companies: OPIN, MEA, Ocean DEMO, AFLOWT (Interreg North-West Europe), BLUE-GIFT, FAN-BEST (Interreg Atlantic Area) and ENCORE (Interreg 2 Seas).
The networking event was introduced by Anke Möllers (Interreg North-West Europe) and (WEAMEC), who both highlighted the range of services offered through this family of projects and the key support for the marine renewables sector growth. This event was the opportunity for offshore renewables stakeholders to network and meet the project partners.
Highlights of the day
- 50 participants: industrials, academics, start-up, etc. from 12 countries (UK, France, Ireland, Netherlands, USA, Sweden, Spain, etc.)
- 7 European projects funded by Interreg North-West Europe, Interreg Atlantic Area and Interreg 2 Seas