Email News February 2015
Welcome to the February 2015 Email Newsletter from Marine South East
If you would like to submit an article for consideration please email the text and a suitable image or logo to sj@mseuk.org
Posted 2015-01-07 09:17:38
NOC host visit of MEP and MP for roundtable discussions with Marine South East
Catherine Bearder MEP and Mike Thornton MP for Eastleigh visited the National Oceanology Centre recently to meet with Marine South East to discuss key priorities for the marine and maritime sector and opportunities for future strategic funding.
Discussions centred around the 'Blue Growth' agenda, the Solent Marine Cluster, EU funding and projects to develop Automated Underwater Vehicles for harvesting tidal power.
The two guests were given a tour of the NOC's state of the art facility as well as meeting with NOC staff and project managers.
Catherine Bearder MEP commented "It is fascinating to learn about these ground-breaking projects taking place in our area. AUVs are the future and to be able to get a glimpse of them was wonderful. I wish the MSE team luck in this project and will help them obtain further EU funding in any way I can."
Mike Thornton MP added: "We have the UK's leading institute for integrated ocean research and technology right on our doorstep. The maritime economy represents about 23% of the coastal Hampshire economy, according to the Solent Water Front Strategy Study, and the gross value added of the maritime centre is significantly higher than many other industry sectors. The strength of the NOC just goes to show how much we can gain from investing in research and technology."
Posted 2015-01-30 13:35:15
£7.5m funding for Managing Energy on Marine Vessels opens for registration
Innovate UK in partnership with Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (dstl) has launched a funding competition for collaborative R&D projects to improve the ways in which energy is managed on ships and other marine and maritime vessels.
Businesses within the marine and maritime sector as well as those operating outside the industry with expertise in aspects of electrical systems, energy management or performance monitoring can apply.
The focus of this competition is on the underlying technological challenges that will enable greater efficiencies in the production, management and use of energy.
Proposals must be collaborative and business-led, and the funders would like to see micro and small businesses involved. They expect to fund mainly industrial research projects in which a business partner will generally attract up to 50% public funding for their project costs (60% for SMEs).
Innovate UK and dstL expect projects to range in size from total costs of £500k to £1.5m, although they may consider projects outside this range.
This is a two-stage competition that opened for applicants on 12th January 2015. The deadline for expressions of interest is at noon on 11th March 2015.
For more information please visit:
https://interact.innovateuk.org/competition-display-page/-/asset_publisher/RqEt2AKmEBhi/content/managing-energy-on-marine-vessels?p_p_auth=tUD49hqO&utm_source=http%3a%2f%2fengage.innovateuk.org%2ftechnologystrategyboardlz%2f&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Managing+Energy+on+Marine+Vehicles+C1&utm_term=%C2%A37.5m+funding+announcement+for+RD+in+managing+energy+in+marine+vessels%C2%A0&utm_content=79031
For queries about this competition, please contact support@innovateuk.gov.uk
Posted 2015-01-08 10:56:26
European Funding Opportunities for SMEs
There are several European funding opportunities and initiatives that are available to UK registered SMEs including new one's that have been launched in January 2015.
The SME Instrument is a new dedicated SME scheme to fill gaps in funding for early stage, high-risk research and development. It targets all types of SMEs and provides support across all areas of innovation, science and technology.
The Fast Track to Innovation Instrument aims to speed up the time from idea to market and to increase the participation of industry, SMEs and first time applicants. It will support small consortia of three to five organisations with strong business participation to give promising ideas the last push before entering the market. It is open to ideas in any area of technology or application and to any legal entity established in the EU or in a country associated to Horizon 2020.
The Eurostars programme is targeted at innovative SMEs wanting to take part in collaborative research with partners across Europe and associated countries. The SME takes the lead in a transnational consortium, with the aim to develop innovative products, processes and services, ultimately to gain a competitive advantage.
For more information visit the dedicated UK SME Horizon 2020 and European Initiatives webpage: http://www.h2020uk.org/smes
Posted 2015-01-07 13:57:07
A short guidebook for Innovate UK Competition Applicants
The Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) has produced a short guide to help businesses understand what an assessor for Innovate UK competitions is looking for.
All of the Innovate UK funding programmes follow a similar pattern and companies should bear in mind that the questions are designed to help rather than trip you up. It is important that you answer the questions asked and cover all aspects the Guidance for Applicants describes.
You should try to use the language they are looking for: the easier you make it for the assessor to understand and check off the information they seek, the more likely the proposal will score highly.
The guidance that follows is for the standard 10 questions in a SMART Proof of Concept or Development of Prototype application - Business Opportunity, The Market, Exploitation, Benefits, Project Plan, Innovation, Risks, Skills/ Project Consortium, Finances & Additionality.
It should be noted that this same approach is largely transferable to all competitions.
To download your copy of the guidebook please follow the link:
https://connect.innovateuk.org/documents/3220887/3676376/A%20Short%20Guidebook%20for%20Innovate%20UK%20Competition%20Applicants
Posted 2015-01-19 11:33:00
Arctic IAP project to be presented at Digital Ship conference in Bergen, February 2015
Marine South East associate Nick Lambert will be speaking at the Digital Ship conference in Bergen in February 2015 about whether the Arctic Integrated Situational Awareness Service can add value to operations in the Arctic.
The Arctic Integrated Situational Awareness Service (Developed through the ESA Integrated Applications Promotion) Telespazio VEGA UK and partners are developing a range of value-added services using layers of geo-information and commercial data to provide a fast Integrated Situational Awareness Service to support the expanding economic activities in the Arctic including oil and gas, shipping and tourism.
The service uses space derived data integrated with other information sources and delivered through low bandwidth satellite communications rapidly and directly to the point of need.
The services include primarily satellite derived imagery VMS (24/7 Vessel Monitoring System) from the Telespazio Group, AIS (Automatic Identification System) provided by Canadian consortium member ExactEarth, and a low bandwidth high fidelity image transfer system from AnsuR, a Norwegian company.
Marine South East is providing the project with maritime expertise and access to potential user groups.
To follow progress of the Arctic IAP please register on the user group site: http://groupspaces.com/ArcticIAPUserGroup/
Posted 2014-12-04 11:16:15
Exclusive Invitation to the Marine Roundtable hosted by Vector Aerospace, 11th February 2015
Vector Aerospace is a centre of excellence for a broad range of design, repair, painting and non destructive testing skills. Traditionally servicing the aerospace industry, Vector Aerospace are now keen to offer their expertise and equipment to Hampshire’s growing marine and maritime sector.
Event date:
Wednesday 11 February 2015
09:15 - 14:00
Including networking lunch
Agenda:
09:15 Arrival and Registration
09:30 Welcome from Rob Watson, Business Growth Manager at Hampshire County Council
09:35 Ben Ainslie Racing Update from Andy Hindley, Chief Operating Officer at BAR
09:50 Setting the Scene with Vector Aerospace, Trevor Pritchard, Director Public Affairs at Vector
10:30 Onsite Insight with Vector Aerospace
12:00 Networking Lunch
12:45 Roundtable Q&A
14:00 Event Close
The company occupies a 59 hectare site, with 42,000 m2 of hangarage; bounded to the west by the A32 and to the east by Fareham Creek, to which access is available.
Vector Aerospace facilities include:
* A painting facility with 2 strip bays and 2 paint spray bays, each 23m x 6.5m x 8m; the spray bays are temperature and humidity controlled, with HVLP spray guns
* Kevlar, carbon and GRP repairs , with a 4m x 2.5m autoclave
* 'One stop shop' for fabrication of sheet metal structures, machining (milling, grinding, turning etc) and metal treatment/surface coating
* Non destructive testing, including fluorescent dye penetrant, magnetic particle, eddy current and ultrasonic inspection techniques
Venue:
Vector Aerospace, 110 Fareham Road, Gosport, Hants, PO13 0AQ
This event is free to attend; please email michelle.mcclean@hants.gov.uk to reserve your place
