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Marinet

MARINET, the Marine Renewables Infrastructure Network, is a network of research centres and organisations that are working together to accelerate the development of marine renewable energy technologies – wave, tidal & offshore-wind.  It is co-financed by the European Commission specifically to enhance integration and utilisation of European marine renewable energy research infrastructures and expertise.  MARINET offers periods of free-of-charge access to world-class R&D facilities & expertise and conducts joint activities in parallel to standardise testing, improve testing capabilities and enhance training & networking.

Transnational Access – 6th Call – results announced
Thank you to all who applied for free-of-charge transnational access through MaRINET’s 6th Call.  Our User Selection Board have now reviewed and ranked all applications.  Please visit our Project Workspace area to view the result of your application. 

MARINET Network of Access Providers (number of facilities available)

TRANSNATIONAL ACCESS – COMPLETED PROJECTS

A number of companies and research groups have availed of free-of-charge access to European marine renewable energy infrastructures via the MARINET Transnational Access programme.  To read profiles of some of the completed Transnational Access projects and details on what they have achieved, click on the links below:

WAVE ENERGY

TIDAL ENERGY

OFFSHORE-WIND ENERGY

CROSS-CUTTING AREAS (electrical, PTO, materials etc….)

More profiles will follow as ongoing tests are completed.

For video clips of testing carried out via MARINET go to our YouTube channel.

 

 

Working characteristics of an oscillating hydrofoil, developed by the Innovative Input BV company tested free-of-charge at Ifremer’s wave and current flume tank
The Plat-O submerged device, developed by Sustainable Marine Energy Ltd, was tested free-of-charge in Ifremer’s wave and current flume tank recently A number of personnel working within research infrastructures have availed of MARINET’s ‘Transnational Exchange of Personnel between Infrastructures‘ programme 
Marinet testing at Ifremer - oscillating hydrofoil PLAT-O device testing at Ifremer staff exchange at the flume of Boulogne, Ifremer
Additional photographs of testing at Ifremer available here.
Additional information on this testing available here.
Additional photographs of testing at Ifremer available here.
This programme is offered to share knowledge and experience, train new people for the sector and achieve harmonisation of procedures/practices adopted by providing hands-on experience at a host Infrastructure.  Reports on some of these completed staff exchanges available here.

 

A comparative “Round Robin” testing programme is being conducted by MARINET to test an identical tidal energy model at four different tidal test facilities to characterise and verify the performance behaviour of the test facilities. The Galway Bay National Test Site is a test site for quarter-scale floating wave energy devices. This site is located on the west coast of Ireland in Galway Bay off the Spiddal coast. Sendekia have availed of free-of-charge access to Ifremer’s wave basin to test their wave turbine using a 1:20 scale model.
Round Robin test device
To date “Round Robin” testing has been carried out at IFREMER, the University of Strathclyde and CNR-INSEAN with testing to follow at Edinburgh University. Read more about this testing here.
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Analysis of wave data since 2005 has shown that the site can be highly energetic and has a wave regime which is comparable to one-quarter that of the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Ireland.  Thus the site is unique and ideal for those who wish to test (Stage 3) wave energy converters at one-quarter scale (Stage 3).
To read more about Sendekia’s testing at Ifremer click here.
To read the profiles of other completed Transnational Access projects click here
UEDIN-Flowave TT is a new All-Waters Combined Current and Wave Test Facility in Edinburgh that has been recently completed.  UEDIN-Flowave TT has a unique circular 25 metre pool with a depth of 2 metres and a working area of 17 metres that can mimic the normal and extreme conditions of coastlines across Europe.  The image below shows a cross section through the test facility showing five floating oscillating water column buoys under test.
MARINET 2nd Progress Meeting & 1st User Workshop

Thanks to all MARINET partners & Transnational Access Users who attended the 2nd MARINET Progress Meeting & 1st User Workshop; hosted by CNR-INSEAN in Rome. View the press release here and images from a tour of CNR-INSEAN.

FlowaveTT cross section About MARINET

The MARINET network consists of 29 partners who operate 45 world-class test facilities.  Find out more about MARINET and the opportunity for free-of-charge Transnational Access open to entrepeneur companies, research groups etc.

 

UEDIN-Flowave TT is just one of the suite of facilities that makes up the MARINET network representing the highest quality of facilities in the marine renewable energy sector. MARINET Email Updates
Subscribe here to receive MARINET notifications and announcements by email.
Project Workspace Login
Login to the Project Workspace area to:

  • submit Transnational Access applications (when a call is open);
  • check the outcome of your application following notification of results for each call;
  • complete Post-Access obligations following completion of a project at an infrastructure (this a condition of receiving access and also necessary in order to claim MARINET’s Travel & Subistence contribution directly from that infrastructure).