An €11 million EU-backed programme FORESEA (Funding Ocean Renewable Energy through Strategic European Action) has opened its first call for support package applications.
FORESEA project was launched earlier this month with the aim to provide funding support to ocean energy technology developers to access Europe’s ocean energy test facilities.
Successful applicants will receive free access to test ocean energy technologies in real sea conditions at the projects network of open sea test centres.
The call for applications launched today is open to any enterprise, whether research centre, third level education institution, company or individual, who wish to deploy their technology for testing before June 2018.
Preference will be given to technologies ready for deployment in 2016 and early 2017.
The call for applications is open until September 21, 2016.
John Breslin , General Manager at SmartBay Ireland, said: “FORESEA provides an important test and validation pathway for ocean energy technology developers in their journey towards commercialisation. We look forward to working with developers through the programme to help them get their technologies into the water to contribute to the growth of the ocean renewables sector.”
The testing facilities participating in the project are EMEC (Orkney Islands, UK); SmartBay (Galway, Ireland); SEM-REV (Nantes, France); and Tidal Testing Centre (Den Oever, Netherlands).
The programme is funded through Interreg NWE, part of the European Regional Development Fund.