Abstract
SI Ocean is an Intelligent Energy Europe project being led by a consortium of partners, including the European Ocean Energy Association, and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (EU); the University of Edinburgh, Carbon Trust, and RenewableUK (UK); WavEC (Portugal); and DHI (Denmark).
The SI Ocean project was conceived to strengthen Europe’s ocean energy networks, enhance collaboration on research and development and overcome technology, policy and market barriers to build a Pan-European ocean energy sector. SI Ocean is focused on identifying a realistic trajectory for the commercialisation of wave and tidal stream energy across Europe, and establishing routes to increase supply chain confidence in the emerging ocean energy sector.
The University of Edinburgh, Carbon Trust, WavEC, and the Joint Research Centre of the European Union have prepared this report to highlight the gaps and barriers that exist within current technology development and planned project deployment in the emerging ocean energy sector. Identification of these gaps and barriers will facilitate opportunities to allow combined effort for addressing these challenges, demonstrating a cohesive ocean energy sector that is capable of building a new industry, helping to meet carbon emission reduction targets and providing a source of sustainable energy, enhancing energy security and building a skilled workforce across several EU Member States.
In addition, this document will underpin a Strategic Technology Agenda that will outline the obstacles facing the sector and the opportunities that exist in order to overcome these challenges, providing clarity on the route to a more integrated ocean energy industry.