The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has partnered with the
Centre for Environment,
Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) to launch the
latest marine innovation challenge, focused on the offshore
renewable energy sector.
As part of the ADMIRALTY Marine Innovation
Programme, the latest challenge invites participants to
develop solutions that use marine geospatial data to help
identify new areas for offshore renewable energy and optimise the
performance of existing infrastructure.
To support planners in this sector, access to marine geospatial
data is essential to find suitable sites for offshore wind and
tidal wave energy generation. Accurate data also helps mitigate
potential environmental issues, while ensuring the longevity and
optimised performance of these installations.
Throughout the challenge applicants can access a wide range of
geospatial and scientific data to help them develop key
solutions. Selected applicants will then get to work alongside
experts at both the UKHO and Cefas to develop a prototype product
to test with users. The winner of this challenge will receive a
chance to develop an alpha product to test in the offshore
renewable energy market, which is estimated to be worth £178
billion and employ more than 1.5 million people globally by 2030.
Mark Casey, Head of Research, Design and Innovation at the UKHO,
commented:
The offshore renewables sector is a vital pillar in the blue
economy and has an important role to play in the fight against
climate change. With significant potential, this sector must be
supported with access to data to enable better decision-making.
The ADMIRALTY Marine Innovation Programme is dedicated to
harnessing the power of innovation to explore how data can
support ocean sustainability. To achieve this, we must be
collaborative. We are proud to partner with Cefas for this
challenge and we welcome applications from any organisations
with a creative solution for how marine data can accelerate
growth in offshore renewables.
Stuart Rogers, Chief Scientist at Cefas, said:
We are pleased to partner with UKHO again to build on our
previous successful collaborations. We recognise the global
potential for offshore renewables and are keen to work with the
sector to ensure that future development can proceed in an
environmentally sustainable way. We believe this project has
the potential to accelerate high quality data synthesis
relevant to offshore renewables and contribute to the
de-risking of future developments, allowing the sector to
contribute to meeting the UK government’s targets for renewable
energy generation and net zero.
Find out more
To participate in this challenge, applications must be submitted
by Thursday 31 December 2020. You can find out more about the
challenge and access the application form below:
