A cross-border collaboration project to develop cost-efficient power management for the aquaculture sector has secured up to £129,428 investment from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).
The project aims to research and develop a clean energy storage system, recharged from renewable energy at the shore via a lightweight subsea cable.
The 12-month initiative is expected to lead to commercial activity and the creation of up to four jobs in Argyll within three years.
Shetland-based Ocean Kinetics is leading the project. The company has expanded into Argyll and established a base at Malin House in the European Marine Science Park near Oban.
Ocean Kinetics is working with MMG Welding, which provides engineering design, fabrication and installation services to the salmon farming industry in the North West of Ireland.
They are also working with Edinburgh based Stortera - a technology development business offering smart and flexible energy storage systems.
Funding has been made possible through HIE’s role as a delivery partner in the Co-Innovate programme, which is supported by the European Union’s INTERREG VA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body.
This €14.7m programme, including €2.2m from HIE, supports research and development (R&D) projects in parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
This is the second collaborative R&D project led by a Highlands and Islands business, the first being led by Cuantec, another EMSP-based company.
Vicki Hazley, Co-Innovate programme manager at HIE, said: “This collaborative R&D project is about addressing the need for a more efficient and responsive means of using renewable energy in aquaculture.
“As well as reducing operating costs, it has potential to lead to significant reductions in carbon emissions, helping the industry’s contribution to net zero.”
John Henderson, managing director of Ocean Kinetics, said: “Aquaculture is an important and growing sector for us and like other industries, it must move away from fossil fuels - key to this will be commercially viable clean power systems.
“Malin House provides co-location with a number of innovative marine businesses, so we are excited to see what possibilities that will bring.”
The Co-Innovate programme encourages cross-border research and innovation among small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in fragile areas.
In Scotland it supports innovation in SMEs in Argyll and Bute, Lochaber, Skye and Lochalsh, the Outer Hebrides, Ayrshire and Arran, and Dumfries and Galloway.
The Co-Innovate partnership is led by InterTradeIreland and includes HIE and Scottish Enterprise.
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