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Jochen Weilepp of the University of Applied Sciences Biberach, is the winner of this year’s Vi Maris Award.

The announcement of this prestigious industry award took place during the OEE2021 Conference & Exhibition in Brussels. Vi Maris, meaning ‘the power of the sea’, is an industry award established by Ocean Energy Europe, which recognises the outstanding contribution of an individual to the ocean energy sector.

Jochen Weilepp was nominated for his work as a long-time supporter and champion of ocean energy. He is a professor for Energy Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Biberach, Germany, and holds a PhD in Physics and an MBA (INSEAD).

On the occasion of the OEE2021 event, the EuropeWave project has announced the successful tenderers in its innovative Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) process.
 

Following a strong response to the initial call for tenders, seven successful project teams have been selected by a panel of independent experts and will share a budget of €2.4 million to further develop their wave energy device concepts in the first half of 2022.

The EuropeWave project, a five-year collaborative R&D funding programme, is a partnership between Wave Energy Scotland (WES) and the Basque Energy Agency (EVE). Match-funded by the European Commission via its Horizon2020 programme, this transnational collaboration will channel almost €20 million to procure the most promising wave energy technology solutions from developers across Europe and beyond.

Brussels, 6 December 2021

The Basque Energy Cluster and Ocean Energy Europe (OEE) are teaming up to deliver a joint event on ocean energy in 2022. The unique event, ICOE-OEE 2022, will gather ocean energy professionals and decision-makers from all corners of the globe in San Sebastián – Donostia, in the Basque Country, Spain.

By joining forces, the organisers will offer an unparalleled opportunity for the sector to showcase its successes, network and do business. Taking place on 18-20 October, the event combines Ocean Energy Europe’s annual conference and exhibition, and the International Ocean Conference on Ocean Energy, which is supported by the International Energy Agency’s Technological Collaboration Program on Ocean Energy Systems (IEA/OES).

The Basque Country is one of the world’s leading centres of ocean energy. Building on an impressive industrial history, it is now home to a wealth of innovative wave energy activity, including the BiMEP test centre, the Mutriku power plant and over 50 companies, universities and technology centres working in key regional and European initiatives.

Ocean Energy Europe is the largest network of ocean energy professionals in the world. Its annual event brings together hundreds of people from across the sector, including politicians, senior decision-makers and key industrial players.

Ocean Energy Europe applauds the UK government’s decision to ringfence £20m (€23.7m) per year for tidal stream energy in its ‘Contracts for Difference’ revenue support programme for renewables. This single decision will promote the deployment of at least 34MW of tidal energy in the coming years.

Rémi Gruet, CEO of Ocean Energy Europe, commented: “It is fantastic to see the UK seize the opportunity of a new home-grown renewable energy industry. The UK Government has rightly identified the many benefits of ocean energy, e.g. clockwork predictability, grid balancing for variable wind and solar, and local economic development. This move confirms what industry has long been saying – ‘per MWh’ revenue support schemes can rapidly scale up innovative renewables to industrial scale.

It is now time for the European Union to implement its 2020 Strategy on Offshore Renewable Energy and join the drive to create a global ocean energy market. The review of the Renewable Energy Directive is the perfect opportunity to deliver on the Strategy. A specific target for innovative renewables would ensure that not only cheap wind and solar get built, but also complementary and early-stage technologies such as tidal and wave energy.”

Reacting to the conclusions of the extraordinary Energy Council, the heads of 7 renewable energy associations call upon Europe to prioritise the diversification of renewable energy supply as a matter of urgency. A wider range of renewables will deliver a cleaner energy system that protects citizens and businesses from future energy shocks.

The recent spikes in fossil gas prices show how much European economic and social life depends upon a stable energy supply. Accelerating the transition to renewable energy sources is absolutely the solution – but increasing just the quantity alone is not enough.

Diversity of supply has always been a core principle of energy system security. And Europe is blessed with a wealth of different renewable energy sources.

Together with wind and solar PV, Europe can call upon geothermal, solar heat, wave, hydro, concentrated solar power and tidal energy. Collectively these renewable sources can provide decarbonised and balanced energy at any point in the day, season or year.

The European Commission has launched a call for expression of interest to become a member of a new working group on offshore renewable energy, under the framework of the clean energy industrial forum. The deadline for applications is 10 September 2021 and the call is open to all relevant stakeholder organisations.

Following on from last year’s Commission Strategy for Offshore Renewable Energy, the mandate of the group will be to help contribute to reaching the EU’s offshore renewable energy ambitions of an installed capacity of at least 60 GW offshore wind and at least 1 GW of ocean energy by 2030, with a view to achieving capacity of at least 300 GW and 40 GW respectively by 2050.

In concrete terms, the working group will identify and define the challenges which the sector faces and potential implementation bottlenecks for reaching the 2030 and 2050 goals – and develop recommendations for overcoming these. Amongst others, this is likely to focus on the critical value chain, the different supply chain segments, and associated investments – all of which need to be scaled up in order to ensure that EU renewables deployment targets can be met in a sustainable way (e.g. circularity).

The members of the working group will be decided in the first half of September with the first meeting likely in mid-October. 

Further information and application criteria

There are more than enough ocean energy projects in the works to meet the European Offshore Renewable Energy Strategy’s target of 100 MW by 2025, according to Ocean Energy Europe (OEE). 17 major projects are already in progress, representing over 160 MW of clean energy and €1.2bn of investment. But the clock is ticking:  to get these projects over the finish line, the European Commission and Member States must deliver now on the Strategy’s key commitment of coordination on financial support.
 
Today, the Commission was presented with the industry knowledge it needs to kick off its collaboration with national & regional authorities: a detailed pipeline of the 17 wave and tidal projects that could hit EU waters by the end of 2025. There is no more time to lose in getting started – for projects to deploy by 2025, financial support needs to be in place within the next two years. This confidential study details the financial, technical and regulatory aspects of these projects, and makes recommendations for action at the EU level.

The new European Offshore Renewable Energy Strategy, published today, clearly acknowledges the massive industrial and environmental benefits that ocean energy can bring to Europe. Ocean Energy Europe welcomes this important step towards scaling up a brand-new European industry, while calling for swift, concrete implementation of the Strategy’s actions.

The Strategy’s commitment to support a pipeline of 100MW of ocean energy projects in the water by 2025, and at least 1 GW by 2030, will provide a boost to the sector in the coming decade.

A 2050 deployment target of 40GW provides a good starting point for building out the sector over the longer term. That said, the ocean energy industry has ambitions far beyond this target – and Europe should too.

There is no time to lose in mapping out how exactly the EU and member states will deliver this investment, so that Europe – and its ocean energy developers – can keep a competitive edge.

Remi Gruet, CEO of Ocean Energy Europe, commented: “The message from the ocean energy sector is clear: we are more than ready for this. We are confident the case for ocean energy will be self- evident once 100MW has hit the water. The Strategy is an encouraging opening to the coming decade – what we need now is to transform aspirations into actions. Offshore renewables projects bring long-term benefits, but they also take time to get into the water – the ocean energy sector, the Commission and national governments need to roll up their sleeves and start implementing the Strategy right away.”

Revising the State Aid guidelines to ensure they are fit-for-purpose and enable national support is another crucial component of the Strategy. Demonstration projects for emerging technologies don’t undermine competition and should be explicitly excluded from future State Aid rules.  

The promised platform on offshore renewables within the Clean Energy Industrial Forum (CEIF) can bring together the right actors from across Europe, but only with clear deliverables and an effective reporting structure will it be able to achieve its mission. High-level Member State participation is critical. National governments are strongly motivated to develop ocean energy, but they need to know that they won’t be investing alone, and that there will be a future European market for their companies. The CEIF can help manage both these concerns.

The strategy also highlights the importance of sea access and grid development for offshore renewables. A new framework for long-term offshore grid planning and clear objectives in national maritime spatial plans will go a long way towards providing the kind of regulation and infrastructure that the roll-out of ocean energy requires.

Leading French tidal energy developer HydroQuest is joining the Ocean Energy Europe Board of Directors as a Lead Partner, the industry body announced today. HydroQuest will be represented by Guillaume Gréau, Head of Business Development, who has 20 years of experience in shipbuilding and tidal energy.

Building on a decade’s experience in developing river current turbines, in 2016 HydroQuest added tidal turbine technology to its portfolio. Directly inspired by their existing river turbine technology, the OceanQuest tidal project won the ADEME competition “Energies Renouvelables en Mer” (Marine renewable energies) in 2017.

The innovative 1MW OceanQuest tidal turbine recently celebrated its one-year anniversary of continuous operation at the Paimpol-Bréhat site in Brittany, proving its reliability and efficacity. A partnership between HydroQuest and Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie (CMN), provides HydroQuest with a strong production capability & expertise on the strategic site of Cherbourg.

The new generation of HydroQuest tidal turbines will be one of the most powerful available, with a nominal power of 2.5MW.

Rémi Gruet, CEO of Ocean Energy Europe, underlined the value that HydroQuest will bring to the Ocean Energy Europe Board of Directors:

“The tidal energy sector is regaining momentum in France, so it is timely that we are now welcoming an important French developer to the OEE Board. This move confirms HydroQuest’s commitment to the technology and demonstrates that they are ready to advance to the industrial stage of development. I am looking forward to working with Guillaume to shape the future of this exciting sector, which can only benefit from HydroQuest’s extensive experience.”

Guillaume Gréau, HydroQuest’s Head of Business Development added:

“We at HydroQuest are excited to join the OEE Board of Directors and to play our part in realising the huge potential of tidal power. Four years ago, we took the wise decision to capture not only the energy of rivers, but also the immense power of the seas. It is a key objective of HydroQuest to be part of the clean energy transition, and together with Ocean Energy Europe and my fellow Directors, I am looking forward to writing the next chapter in the industrialisation and commercial deployment of tidal energy.”

Download this press release in PDF

In anticipation of the European Commission’s forthcoming industrial strategy, which will lay out the foundation of a climate-neutral society, 10 leading European renewable energy associations joined forces to stress the strategic importance of their sectors in delivering the European Green Deal and facilitating the decarbonisation of industry.

The associations signed a joint letter that urges renewable energy technologies to be acknowledged as a key Strategic Value Chain, complementing the six key Strategic Value Chains already identified by the Strategic Forum on Important Projects of Common European Interest. Membership of the Strategic Forum should be opened to representatives of renewable energy industries before the end of 2020.

The decarbonisation of the EU’s society and economy requires the large-scale deployment of cost-competitive renewable energy capacities by 2050. This will create a massive demand for green energy products in the EU and abroad, unlocking vast opportunities for European industries.  

Rémi Gruet, CEO of Ocean Energy Europe, said: “Wind and solar have delivered incredible jobs and economic activity in Europe these last 10 years. It is now time for a 2nd generation of renewables, including ocean energy, to reach industrialisation and provide flexibility in a renewables based energy system. Renewables bring more jobs per kWh than gas or coal generation. Acknowledging these sectors as one of the key Strategic Value Chains is thus a no-brainer to foster industrial development in Europe.”

Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe, said: “The renewable energy industry is pivotal in delivering the European Green Deal. Solar and renewables offer low-cost and innovative solutions to decarbonising Europe’s energy system. Acknowledging renewables as one of the key Strategic Value Chains in the next Industrial Strategy published in March can unlock our full potential, bringing highly skilled jobs and energy self-sufficiency, powering all Europeans.”

Read the full letter here : Joint RES Letter on EU Industrial Strategy