Abstract
This report is being prepared to frame how the UK tidal stream industry can work collaboratively in a way which adds valuable capacity to the UK energy mix at an affordable cost and create long term export opportunities for a UK supply chain. It builds on previous work published by ORE Catapult in May 20181 to identify areas where some key players in the industry can work together on cost reduction actions which can be pursued in the near term to put the industry in the best possible position to achieve its full potential when further revenue support is made available in the UK, and how marine energy can benefit the UK energy mix in a way that other resources are unable to.
The leading UK tidal stream projects have been developed using a variety of collaborative mechanisms, including supply chain partnering, academic/research input and public funding. The priorities set out in this report cover a range of challenges that need to be resolved through a combination of individual developer and common industry effort to achieve a commercial industry. The collaborative areas identified, and all actions proposed in this report will respect participants’ intellectual property rights (IPR), with the focus being building a strong tidal stream industry, and not the erosion of any competitive advantage. This report does not focus on the export potential for tidal stream products and services, which is set out in the earlier report.