Dutch Marine Energy Centre (DMEC) has been launched in the Netherlands with the aim to promote marine energy and accelerate the commercialization of marine renewable energy technologies.
DMEC, launched in June this year, will seek to create a knowledge platform for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) active in the field of technological development for the sustainable extraction of energy from water, such as wave energy, tidal energy and energy extraction from salinity gradients.
The project is a collaboration of research institutes, testing facilities, network organizations and SMEs from the marine energy sector.
DMEC is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) programme ‘Kansen voor West II’ and is co-financed by the province of North-Holland.
Wim Kloezen , Chairman of the steering committee of DMEC, said: “The added value of DMEC is the improved access to knowledge. DMEC makes it easier to get through the jungle of regulations and financing – and is a partner in funding requests.”
An important activity of the Dutch Marine Energy Centre is research driven by demand, focusing on on cooperation between businesses and universities, with the aim of developing six innovative product technologies and four tools that can accelerate the implementation of these products.
“Sharing knowledge also entails revenue. A few years ago we made our model systems ‘open source’. Although the models themselves cannot be sold anymore, this step has resulted in additional projects, and we gained more knowledge through the contributions of others,” said Luca Van Duren , Senior researcher at Deltares.
Also, the interactive online DMEC platform provides better access to knowledge and testing facilities, explores local and international markets and provides access to financing.