Minister for Research and Innovation Seán Sherlock, T.D. has officially launched the Marine Renewable Energy Ireland (MaREI) SFI Research Centre at University College Cork (UCC).

The Centre will receive funding of €19million from the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) with a further €10.5 million from 45 industry partners. This investment has the potential to position Ireland at the forefront of the marine renewable energy research sector globally.

Speaking at the launch of MaREI, Minister Sherlock, T.D. recognised the commitment shown by Government, industry and academic partners. He said: "By making Ireland an international focal point for the marine renewable industry, MaREI will help create solutions for the marine energy industry to meet national and international sustainable energy demands, and ensure that jobs created in this sector benefit the national economy. MaREI will prepare ocean technologies for market by removing technical and commercial barriers, and will directly create companies and jobs, thereby serving as a catalyst for Ireland to establish a safe, sustainable and profitable energy supply for domestic use and for export."

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MaREI will conduct world-leading research on all aspects of the marine renewable energy from marine robotics and materials to endure ocean conditions, to offshore wind, wave and marine energy devices as well as technologies to deliver power to the grid for electricity supply at home and abroad.

As an industry-academia research consortium, there are over 45 industry partners, including Bord Gas Energy, ESB Energy International, Intel, Siemens, DePuy, many other global market leaders and indigenous SMEs in the area of energy, marine technology, software and hardware. Academic partners include lead partner UCC along with University College Dublin, Cork IT, University of Limerick, NUI Galway, NUI Maynooth, Marine Institute and Teagasc.

(CD/IT)