Offshore renewable energy SMEs to benefit as new DMEC-led project launches, targeting sector support

The Dutch Marine Energy Centre (DMEC)-led Offshore Accelerator for System Integration and Storage (OASIS) project has launched, aiming to accelerate system integration and storage solutions for offshore renewable energy (ORE). Targeting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the program will offer tools, training, market research, and a strong network to support the sector.

According to DMEC, the ORE industry continues to drive the green transition in the North Sea region, growing into one of its largest industries. In 2021, the sector was valued at €16 billion, with projections to expand by a factor of seven over the next five years.

As the blue economy grows, challenges like intermittency in ORE production are becoming more frequent, leading to price drops and grid congestion during peak production. Therefore, developers and SMEs face high entry barriers, with large-scale projects demanding tight risk management.

The project focuses on training SMEs in three areas: technology development, commercial development, and sustainable design. The Interreg North Sea project will help SMEs identify gaps in these areas, implement solutions, analyze market potential, and connect with market players. 

According to the Dutch knowledge center for ORE solutions, the OASIS partnership combines expertise and insights into the challenges of the ORE sector, tools for sector analysis, networks, and cross-border collaboration. By exchanging tools and knowledge cross-borders, the overall aim is to enable SMEs to take opportunities and implement ideas for driving the green energy transition.

The OASIS consortium includes DMEC from the Netherlands as the project lead, along with Uppsala University (Sweden), the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Blue Cluster, Flux 50 and BOVA ENVIRO+ from Belgium, ÅKP from Norway, Energy Cluster Denmark, and BUILDERS School of Civil Engineering as well as the OPEN-C Foundation from France.

“The development and integration of storage assets is the cornerstone of a future renewable energy system. They will form the utilities that enable the energy system as a whole to hold to the challenge of power flexibility, without relying on fossil fuels,” said Vincent Bonnin, Project Manager at OASIS.

“In years ahead, most renewable energy growth will occur offshore, and a very diverse range of storage solutions are currently being developed by SMEs in the North Sea Region. OASIS aims to build an ecosystem around these SMEs and support their growth towards independent utility providers within the ORE sector.”

In March 2024, the consortium behind the Nautical SUNRISE project, whose member DMEC is, among others, began work on developing the world’s largest offshore floating solar power installation. 

With €8.4 million in funding, including €6.8 million from the Horizon Europe program, the project aims to design and deploy a 5 MW floating solar system, integrated within RWE’s offshore wind farm in the Netherlands. DMEC will oversee research to ensure the system’s reliability, stability, and scalability for future commercialization.