POM West Flanders, the regional development agency for West Flanders (Belgium), has sought the help of the Orkney-based European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) to aid the development of the ‘Blue Accelerator’ test platform into an international hub for ‘blue growth’.
Established in 2019, Blue Accelerator is a maritime innovation and development platform, located approximately 500m from the eastern breakwater of Ostend, Belgium. Operated by POM West Flanders, the platform is open to companies, knowledge institutions and research centres to demonstrate new products and technologies for the blue economy.
The platform provides a means for technologies to be tested below, above or at sea level. German wave energy developer, NEMOS GmbH (
www.nemos.org), is currently testing its wave energy converter prototype there.
Established in 2003, EMEC has developed and operates four marine testing facilities and green hydrogen demonstration infrastructure on Orkney and has tested more marine energy technologies than any other test site in the world. It has advised POM West Flanders on business development, commercial strategy, operational guidance and financial tools to help bring the Blue Accelerator to market.
Sarina Motmans, blue energy coordinator at POM West Flanders, said: “EMEC, together with POM West Flanders, has developed a sustainable long-term business plan to operate our test platform over the next 15 years, with the goal to reach out to the whole blue industry in Western Europe.”
“This plan also includes a financial, commercialisation and marketing strategy for the Blue Accelerator. EMEC ranks among the best in the industry with over seventeen years of expertise in wave and tidal energy. By relying on the services and experiences of EMEC we got valuable insights to introduce Blue Accelerator to the market.”
EMEC’s commercial manager Rob Flynn said: “With over 15 years’ experience testing technologies and components offshore, EMEC has learned how best to do things, and also what not to do. We are happy to share these hard-won lessons with other test facilities like our friends and colleagues at POM West Flanders.
“Blue Accelerator opens up a wide range of R&D opportunities across the blue economy, from offshore energy, aquaculture and subsea tech and I am excited to see what innovations it will generate over the coming years.”
Ms Motmans concluded: “EMEC has been instrumental in encouraging collaboration and partnerships among marine test facilities to strengthen the marine energy sector. EMEC founded the International WaTERS (Wave and Tidal Energy Research Sites) network in 2013, bringing together open water research facilities world-wide to exchange experience and knowledge. Blue Accelerator has now joined the International WaTERS network, paving the way for the exchange of experiences and forms of new collaborations with international test facilities.”