The Irish marine renewable energy sector is set to benefit from a new €9m EU-funded initiative to provide access to test facilities in specialist marine renewable energy centres across Europe.
MaRINET (Marine Renewables Infrastructure Network) offers periods of marine renewable energy testing at these centres at no cost to participants through funding from the European Commission. Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and University College Cork are key partners in this initiative.
MaRINET supports testing of concepts and devices in areas such as wave energy, tidal energy, offshore-wind energy and the environment, to accelerate Europe-wide development of marine renewable energy. The funding seeks to remove financial barriers for the first time by enabling companies and research groups to access unique world-class European testing facilities outside their own country, which is generally not covered under national grant schemes.