Opening session – Political keynotes

Key public representatives from several leading regions, countries and institutions will review their current strategies to support the development of ocean energy and its relevance in the framework of the energy transition and the increasing importance of energy security.

Flagships 2022 – The year when ocean energy happens

This session will present the most exciting projects, whether because of technology excellence, sheer size, macroeconomic benefits or new markets.

Living Ocean Energy – High-Level Leader’s Discussion

This session brings together leaders from all the main stakeholders who will drive the sector’s industrial scale-up. Panellists will exchange on ocean energy’s future prospects and its needs.

Tech Showcase – Tidal ready for take-off

Tidal stream technologies are on the rise, as there are more and more mature turbines and pilot farms in the ocean. The growing attention from some States and from the European Union for those technologies also contributes to a more conducive environment for this sector. This session will shine a light on the latest developments in tidal stream technology. Developers will present their newest project and share the advances they have made when it comes to device design, materials and cost reduction.

Tech Showcase – The rise of Wave Energy

A range of developers from around the world will present their WECs (Wave Energy Converters) and give an insight into their plans for deployment and testing. Several devices have been installed over the past year, and this session will be an opportunity to hear about these projects and how WECs are being made more robust and more cost-efficient.

Tech Showcase – Combining ocean energy and mainstream renewables

This session will highlight new technologies using multiple renewable energy sources. Providing more flexible electricity production patterns, hybrid ocean RES also offer new solutions for optimal sea space usage.

Off-grid markets – Ocean energy labs for scaling up

Due to their high energy prices and specific requirements, off-grid markets such as O&G, decarbonisation aquaculture, and desalination offer great opportunities to scale up for tidal and wave energy developers.

Security through diversity – reducing costs and gas dependency

It is now well understood that tidal and wave energy’s core added value is their production patterns. This session will showcase studies and real-world cases to demonstrate how ocean energy technologies can help balance the electricity grid and increase energy security.

Innovating in ocean energy testing

Continuous development of ocean energy technologies means that innovation also extends to the testing itself. In this session, you will get to know the latest trends in innovative physical testing sites, software tools and hybrid methodologies.

Learning from testing – One step at a time

Testing is a crucial step in the development of any new technology. Each test means new knowledge and being a step closer to the optimal solution. In this session, you will learn from the successes and failures of different wave and tidal energy converter that have undergone physical or virtual testing.

New digital tools and methodologies for design optimisation

Getting as close as possible to the optimal solution in the design phase is critical for significantly reducing the LCOE of a technology. In this session, speakers will share their latest developments in terms of new digital modelling solutions or the need to consider additional aspects in the design phase, such as the specific deployment sites, marine operations (including installation, operations and maintenance) or the life cycle of the energy device.

Breakthroughs in mooring systems and critical connections

Improving mooring systems and critical connections is essential to the success of marine renewables devices. In this session, several innovative solutions that reduce costs, optimise system loads or minimise risks will be introduced.

Tough materials for harsh environments

Harsh environmental conditions and the need to be cost competitive require the best options in terms of materials for marine renewables. In this session, you will learn about a range of new technologies that will help marine energy devices survive in the open sea.

Determining the environmental impact of a marine energy installation

Every project installing ocean energy devices in real sea conditions includes measures to monitor potential environmental impacts. But with relatively few devices in the water today, more information is needed on the real long-term effects – especially as the sector progresses from single device to array scale. This session aims to fill the knowledge gaps by presenting the latest results from environmental monitoring and modelling.

Choosing the perfect site

Choosing the perfect site is about correctly understanding and measuring the existing resource, but that’s not all. There are other environmental, technical, and socio-economic factors that could influence the suitability of new projects. This session presents several innovative tools and methodologies to obtain and analyse ocean data in order to determine the best area for a marine energy facility.

Setting up arrays – 2+2=5

The design and optimisation of array projects is a complex multi-parameter problem that needs to be addressed to meet the sector’s ambitious cost-reduction and deployment targets. Sharing mooring systems, choosing optimal layouts, improving the control strategy or planning of marine operations for installation, O&M, and decommissioning are some of the topics that will be introduced by the speakers in this insightful session.

Slashing consenting time to 12 months (or less)

As ocean energy is a relatively new sector, lack of details about the potential impact to marine environment leads to cautious approaches on risk assessment. This can slow down consenting and delay deployments. In this session, you will hear about the best practices already in place and recommendations on new approaches to accelerate consenting of ocean energy.

Local content – Content locals!

This session explores the supply chain activities and economic impact of ocean energy at regional level, and how regions can reap the benefits of the nascent ocean energy market. This session invites panel members to highlight the progress and activity in their regions, how supply chains are responding to market and policy demand and consider the race to secure first-mover advantage.

Market – From the Land of the Rising Sun to Down Under

This session focuses on both the Asian and Oceanian markets. What is the potential for ocean energy? How is the sector developing? How supportive are national governments? From Japan to Australia, delegates will learn about the latest projects and opportunities from national experts.

Market – The American Stream

This session looks at different market opportunities, resource, and policy landscapes in the Americas. Panellists will provide an update on what changes are enabling the deployment of wave and tidal and how barriers could be addressed in the future.

A convenient truth – Using ‘Al-Gore-ithms’ to model ocean energy’s future

The future is unknown, but ocean energy’s development trajectory doesn’t have to be. In fact, the more we know about the sector’s potential deployments and cost reductions, the more readily we can integrate wave & tidal into our future energy mix.
This session brings together experts who are developing and modelling the latest scenarios for ocean energy’s scale-up.

Penny for your thoughts – Shared experiences from funding applications

Public funding remains the lifeblood of our sector. Ocean energy developers deeply know the ecstasy of a successful application, but also the crushing agony of an anonymous system-generated rejection mail.
Competition for funding is fierce and putting together a strong proposal is its own unique skill. In this session panellists will share their experiences and lessons from funding applications – and will help all ocean energy developers put together proposals which will blow the socks off the evaluators!

Certification – High standards, low maintenance

Certification and standardisation remain a hot topic in ocean energy, with an increasing number of developers using it as a means of developing a ‘bankable’ product that is attractive to investors. This session offers a deep dive into certification and standardisation, featuring concrete examples from ocean energy projects and recommendations on how they could be improved for the sector.

Sharing is caring – Environmental data transfer

Transferring environmental data from projects to future projects can reduce environmental monitoring requirements, avoiding the duplication of work and decreasing monitoring costs. Data transferability can pave the ground for an easier, streamlined environmental impact assessment and consenting process. However, aspects such as confidentiality agreements with technology developers and lack of organisation of existing information may hinder data transferability. This session looks at how data platforms and test centres can facilitate environmental data transfer.