18 03 .2021
The ENCORE partnership welcomes new Lead Partner Bluespring and three observers to the project: The National University of Costa Rica (UNA), Hogeschool Zeeland Applied University of Sciences (HZ) and DOB Academy.
Bluespring takes over the Lead Partner role from Dutch Marine Energy Centre (DMEC) for the ambitious 10m€ ENCORE project funded under the INTERREG 2SEAS programme. The transition comes naturally since Bluespring was responsible for the project inception, funding application, and management as a sub-contractor to DMEC. The project, with twelve project partners, aims to advance four offshore renewable energy solutions both in terms of technological innovation and commercial uptake . It will run until mid 2022.
For the first time, international standards developed under the International Electro-technical Committee (IEC) are being applied in a structured way to reduce risks and validate the performance of four pilot projects. In parallel, the companies developing the innovations are being prepared for capital raise. All learnings from the project are captured to develop online learning courses to prepare students and professionals entering the sector. The project is well underway.
About Bluespring
Peter Scheijgrond, director of Bluespring brings a wealth of knowledge, network and experience to the ENCORE partnership having worked for over 25 years in the offshore renewable energy sector. Besides experience in managing complex international innovation projects, he has been pivotal in the financing and implementation of several large pilot and demonstration of tidal and wave energy solutions. He has been closely involved in advancing international certification for the sector, one of the keys to creating bankable projects.
About the new Observers
The three new observers joining ENCORE each have a track record in both the academic world and the offshore renewable energy sector. They all join the Education Advisory Board to give direction and uptake for the online courses developed by the partnership.
DOB-Academy
DOB-academy based in Delft (NL) offers offshore energy education for professionals with a focus on offshore wind. Through the ENCORE project, DOB-Academy wants to expand their curriculum to cover wave and tidal energy topics as well. DOB-academy has an international reach with focused face-to-face teaching, practical hands-on workshops and building networks via hosting seminars and conferences. They have translated their formula into interactive online events and courses, all facilitated by the in-house studio of DOB-Academy.
Hogeschool Zeeland (HZ) University of Applied Sciences
The HZ UAS research group ‘HZ Delta Power’ studies and teaches integrated solutions for marine renewable energy, e.g. in dams and barriers. HZ UAS is closely involved in the establishment of the Delta knowledge institute for water, energy, and food. Located in Flushing (NL), HZ-UAS students are also involved in the pilot project by partner Water2Energy, who is about to install a novel vertical axis water turbine in a discharge channel as part of a sea lock complex.
The National University of Costa Rica (UNA)
The National University of Costa Rica (UNA) is one of 5 public universities in the Republic of Costa Rica and was the pioneer in the region in developing experts on marine sciences. Dr. Rodrigo Rojas is a national leader on the offshore energy country road map and coordinated the first Pan-American Marine Energy Conference early 2020. Since 2013, he is part of marine energy task force of Costa Rica and currently is a professor and researcher at UNA Campus Liberia and a lecturer and adviser at the Central American Institute for Public Administration. In this capacity, he will link expert networks and unlock opportunities for cooperation throughout Latin American.
For more information on the new Lead Partner and the three new observers, please take a look at their websites:
The ENCORE partnership looks forward to work with the new Lead Partner and Observers.