Research, development and innovation group Tecnalia has signed a collaboration agreement with the Biscay Marine Energy Platform (BiMEP) to provide advanced solutions to accelerate the deployment of offshore renewable energy.
The joint collaboration is focused on the standardization and certification of tests of wave energy converters, floating wind turbines and other offshore energy technologies.
Both Spanish-based entities will work together to launch a research and development program in this field, based on a joint positioning in national and international markets, according to Tecnalia.
The agreement has been deemed as a step forward in the positioning of the Basque Country as a development hub for offshore renewable energy technologies.
“BiMEP and Tecnalia share future strategies and objectives to promote the development of offshore renewable energy in the Basque Country and the consolidation of an industrial and knowledge sector in this field, aligned with the Research and Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialisation (RIS3) of the Basque Government in the field of the energy, the so called Energibasque,” Tecnalia said.
BiMEP is a public company of the Basque Energy Agency (EVE) with the participation of the Spanish Energy Agency IDAE (EVE 91%, IDAE 9%) that has set up an open sea infrastructure for testing and demonstrating marine energy devices in order to accelerate technological development until reaching a commercial phase.
The main objective of BiMEP is to serve as a site for testing marine energy prototypes in order to demonstrate their technical and economic feasibility, as well as its safety before moving to a large-scale commercial stage.