The Catapult is a partner in the Ocean Power Innovation Network (OPIN) project, a three-year initiative that runs from 2019 to 2021. The project has a total project budget of €2.6M, with €1.5M in financial support contributed by Interreg North West Europe from the European Research and Development Fund (ERDF).
OPIN is a cross-sectoral collaborative network that aims to accelerate the growth of the ocean energy sector and its supply chains across the partner regions of Ireland, the UK, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Germany.
The basic premise of OPIN is to encourage both cross-sectoral and cross-regional collaboration for SMEs working in offshore renewable energy. Cross-sectoral collaboration will bring proven expertise, capabilities and products from other sectors into the ocean energy sector. This will help to reduce costs and accelerate technology development.
OPIN will also create a forum for collaboration and technology exchange across the partner regions. Companies from regions with ocean energy expertise will interact with potential collaborators from regions that are world leaders in other technology fields (offshore wind energy, oil and gas, aerospace, automotive and manufacturing). OPIN will provide a mechanism to transfer expertise between these regions, addressing the disparities in innovation and economic development across north-west Europe.
The OPIN project will deliver supports to encourage both cross-sectoral and cross-regional collaboration. These supports will include:
OPIN plans to support over 100 companies over the lifetime of the project. Additionally, the OPIN network will continue to grow and be a mechanism for the transfer of expertise beyond the life of the project.
The Technology Assessment Process
A TAP is a crucial part of the support OPIN offers to member businesses. Download the brochure to find out more about the process, benefits for your commercialisation journey and investment prospects, and how a TAP helped floating solar innovator HelioRec.
“We were at a tipping point with the technology development and we wanted independent scrutiny of every detail before building the prototype. The OPIN approach was collaborative throughout, helping us refine our design and pinpoint where our technology could sit on the market. A Technology Assessment Process helped us to avoid unnecessary costs further down the line.” – Polina Vasilenko, Founder and CEO, HelioRec
Membership of the Ocean Power Innovation Network is completely free. To become a member of the OPIN Project fill in the Membership Form on the OPIN website.
Alongside ORE Catapult, the project partners are:
