Marine energy, the next big opportunity for your technology
Marine energy is an emerging market with massive growth potential, representing a big opportunity for existing components and emerging technologies. To maintain the UK’s competitive edge the marine energy industry needs:
• Robust technology adapted from existing applications
• Skills and know how from other areas of industry
• Innovative new components
The Carbon Trust is looking to work in partnership with academia and industry to find and develop new component technologies for the marine energy industry.
Businesses involved with structural materials, gearboxes, rotors, electric generators or moorings that are interested in growing their market with support from the Carbon Trust can register their interest at: http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/technology/technologyaccelerator/mea_register.htm
and check the ‘Strand B: Developing lower cost component technologies’ box
The project will help the industry accelerate cost reduction by supporting:
• Development of new marine energy device concepts with potential for significantly lower costs than front-runner technologies
• Research and development into specific component technologies of marine energy devices that are common causes of high costs
• Development of low-cost installation, operation and maintenance strategies for marine energy devices
The project will involve —
• Developers and manufacturers of component technologies that could be used in marine energy devices
• Academic research teams with expertise relevant to these technologies
These organisations are invited to work individually or in collaboration to research these components and related technologies to understand how to make them more suitable for marine energy devices. The ultimate aim is to reduce the cost of energy from marine energy devices.
The project offers support to applicants to:
• Adapt existing technologies to new markets;
• Develop new products;
• Share the risk of developing new products and new markets; and,
• Understand the marine energy market and technologies.
Tidal Stream Wave
The Carbon Trust is offering grants of £50,000-£250,000 to conduct research into component technologies for marine energy devices. Projects are expected to last between six months and two years. The call for proposals will begin on 25 June 2007. To receive an application pack you should register your interest on the Marine Energy Accelerator website.
Applicants will complete an initial application form containing an outline of the project, who will be involved and what it aims to achieve. The best applicants will then be asked to submit a full application detailing their plans. From these, the most promising projects will be offered grants.
Detailed information on the grant process will be published with the application packs.
For more information see the Carbon Trust website at:
http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/technology/technologyaccelerator/mea_register.htm
There will also be a speaker from the Carbon Trust giving more information about this at the MareNet event taking place 24th July 2007 at Premier Marinas – see MareNet article for more information or visit the events section of the website.
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