OPIN is a cross-sectoral collaborative network that aims to accelerate the growth of the ocean energy sector

Key project details

  • 2019 - 2021

    Planned duration of the project

  • €2.6 million

    Total project budget

  • SEAI

    Lead partner

About the Ocean Power Innovation Network (OPIN)

The Ocean Power Innovation Network (OPIN) is a cross-sectoral collaborative network that aims to accelerate the growth of the ocean energy sector and its supply chains across the partner regions of Ireland, the UK, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Germany.

OPIN is a 3-year initiative, running from 2019 to 2021. The project has a total project budget of €2.6M, with €1.5M in financial support contributed by Interreg North West Europe from the European Research and Development Fund (ERDF). SEAI is the lead partner of this project and coordinates all project activities.

Key aims of the OPIN project

OPIN was set up to:

Encourage both cross-sectoral and cross-regional collaboration for Offshore Renewable Energy SMEs. 

Cross-sectoral collaboration will bring already proven expertise, capabilities and products from other sectors into the ocean energy sector. This will help to reduce costs and accelerate technology development.  

Create a forum for collaboration and technology exchange across the partner regions.

Companies from regions with ocean energy expertise will interact with potential collaborators from regions that are world leaders in other technology fields (offshore wind energy, oil and gas, aerospace, automotive and manufacturing). OPIN will provide a mechanism to transfer expertise between these regions, addressing the disparities in innovation and economic development across North West Europe.

Deliver supports to encourage both cross-sectoral and cross-regional collaboration.

These supports will include:

  • Annual Symposiums: providing networking opportunities for OPIN members
  • Workshops and Masterclasses: to facilitate knowledge transfer between the project partner regions and to simulate the growth of the network.
  • Technology Assessment Processes (TAPs): assessments allowing companies to benchmark their technologies, map structured development paths and identify potential collaborators.
  • Collaborative Innovation Groups (CIGs): clusters of SMEs, working with research entities or large companies to solve problems identified as barriers to the ocean energy sector.

OPIN plans to support over 100 companies over the lifetime of the project

Additionally, the network will continue to grow and be a mechanism for the transfer of expertise beyond the life of the project.

OPIN partners

The partners involved in delivering the OPIN Project are:

Find out more about OPIN