In a bid to harness opportunities in the wave and tidal market, The National Subsea Research Initiative (NSRI) is hosting a MasterminingTM workshop in Aberdeen on Wednesday 16 May for subsea supply chain companies.
Scotland is playing a leading role in the commercialization of wave and tidal stream energy, including via the European Marine Energy Center in Orkney and the world’s first large-scale tidal stream array, MeyGen, in the Pentland Firth, which generated first power in 2016. The emerging sector is already generating significant commercial opportunities. More than £450m has been spent across the UK wave and tidal supply chain to date and the global industry is forecast to be worth up to £76bn by 2050, subject to successful commercialization.
The workshop – comprising speakers, case studies, and technical sessions – is aimed at technical specialists, businesses and researchers within the subsea, wave, and tidal communities. MasterminingTM aims to explore the challenges and opportunities within the growing wave and tidal energy industry, increase supply chain awareness of opportunities in the sector, and allow for technical expertise to be shared amongst industry peers.
The event will build on the Ocean Power Innovation Network (OPIN) and Opportunity North East (ONE) event held in June last year - as well as the in-depth research undertaken by NSRI in collaboration with Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult & Energy Technology Partnership (ETP).
Key players in the industry including Atlantis, BP, European Marine Energy Centre and Babcock are all confirmed to attend the one-day event.
Co-sponsored by Scottish Enterprise and ONE, David Rennie (Head of Energy Oil and Gas) will kick-off with an opening plenary session before short case studies are presented to attendees. Technical break-out sessions will also take place, facilitated by representatives from oil and gas, and wave and tidal sectors, to stimulate discussion of key subject matters.
NSRI director of research and market acceleration, Tony Laing commented: “There are huge opportunities for subsea supply chain companies to adapt their technologies and techniques and apply them to the wave and tidal sectors.
“These forms of renewable energy are much less mature and as a result, often more expensive to produce. However, with support from the subsea industry, there is potential to extract sustainable energy from the ocean at a lower cost than currently attainable.
“We hope this workshop will identify key areas which impact the wave and tidal sectors and how we can improve the economics of this market.”
Following the event, a technical report will be collated presenting findings, priorities, and recommendations to be addressed, creating targeted opportunities for the supply chain.
The MasterminingTM Workshop will take place on Wednesday 16 May from 8:30 – 17:00 (BST) at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre. Tickets can be booked here.
