The European Marine Energy Centre (Emec) in Orkney is to export some of its world-leading expertise to China.
Emec said yesterday it was playing a key role in the creation of a Chinese version of the centre as part of a new £200million marine laboratory campus in Shandong Province.
The Orkney facility will deliver feasibility studies under a scheme – the Prosperity Fund project – that was set up to boost policy support in China for a demonstration site for wave and tidal-energy technology.
Emec managing director Neil Kermode and other UK industry experts were invited to visit China’s “blue silicon valley” in Qingdao, Shandong, this month.
Mr Kermode said: “Emec has more than a decade of experience in the design, build and operation of its marine-energy test facilities, with more wave and tidal devices having been tested here than anywhere else in the world.
“This important R&D (research and development) activity has created a UK-wide boost to innovation in the maritime economy supply chain which is world-leading and already exporting its knowledge and expertise.
“The maritime capabilities in and around Qingdao are astonishing, and China has a very strong stance on tackling climate change.
“Combined, this makes marine-energy an interesting and important endeavour for their researchers.
“We’ve been met with a real appetite in China to learn from the experience gained over the last decade at Emec, and we’re keen to continue building collaborative R&D and innovation links between the UK and China to help drive the development of ocean energy on a global scale.”
Emec was established in Stromness in 2003 and has to date tested devices from 17 companies in nine different countries.
Recommended for you
