SSPA and Uppsala University are both partners in the project MARINET 2 that has started and is financed by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 program. The aim of the project is to facilitate Research Test Infrastructures for actors in offshore renewable energy, free of charge. This activity integrates the key research infrastructures in Europe for research, development and testing of offshore wind and ocean energy systems including electrical sub systems and grid integration. Trans-national access open existing pilot and demonstration plants as well as laboratory scale installations from wave basins to large scale open sea test sites.
“Marinet 2 creates opportunities for SSPA as well as for other actors in the ocean energy sector. Research and expert help can be acquired without any costs and SSPA can demonstrate its knowledge and how our large research facilities can be used in the most effective way possible.” – Peter Grundevik, Vice President, Head of SSPA Research
“What really is expensive when it comes to the Ocean Energy sector is doing tests at sea. With this in mind, the European Union has made an important prioritization with Marinet 2 by enabling developers to test their technologies for free. As a developer, being able to validate your technology is crucial and Marinet 2 offers this possibility. Developers of both wave and tidal energy can choose to test their prototypes in indoor facilities or out at sea in one of 39 different facilities around Europe. It really is a fantastic opportunity for ocean energy developers. – Rafael Waters, Assoc. Prof. in Engineering physics & Senior lecturer in Renewable energy Uppsala University
“SSPA offers four major test facilities (Maritime Dynamics Laboratory, Towing Tank, Cavitation Tunnel and Simulator) that are well suited for marine energy testing. To carry out full-scale tests at sea is often a very extensive work and it involves significant costs. Within the project SSPA also offers hydrodynamic calculations and simulations to the actors in offshore renewable energy.” – Peter Grundevik, Vice President, Head of SSPA Research
“Participants in this project are mainly not developers themselves but actors in the industry who own the testing facilities that are here made available. At Uppsala University, we are unique I guess in a way since we are both running a testing facility and developing a wave power concept, which we do detailed research on. We believe that Marinet 2 is needed to take ocean energy forward and we hope that our participation in Marinet 2 will open up for more cooperation and tests in our test facility.” – Rafael Waters, Assoc. Prof. in Engineering physics & Senior lecturer in Renewable energy Uppsala University