Marine-i

This 36 month project delivers a Marine Technology RD&I Hub to stimulate and support business-led and market-driven Research & Development and Innovation (RD&I) within the marine technology sector in Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly (C&IoS) to drive growth, productivity and the exploitation of new and growth market opportunities. Firstly, by defining key strategic RD&I opportunities, secondly, identifying the best support mechanisms for innovation and, thirdly, delivering the best co-created solutions.

A significant Marine Challenge Fund will allow eligible businesses to access grant funding to drive RD&I. Further activities are also designed to encourage and enable businesses to gain access to the region’s key RD&I assets, facilities, knowledge and expertise required to develop new and improved products, improve business processes and downstream applications which in turn will drive growth and productivity.

The Hub will champion the region’s RD&I assets, have a core team based at the new Hayle Marine Renewables Business Park as well as staff based in each delivery partner and will furnish links to wider marine activities including the proposed Marine Enterprise Zone at Hayle, Tolvaddon and Falmouth.

Marine technology covers an extensive range of activities, sectors and subsectors. Project delivery partners have undertaken background consultation with businesses to examine business growth areas and consolidated all this data into four interconnected, market focussed themes: marine energy, marine manufacturing, maritime operations and marine environmental technologies. Each (non-exhaustive) theme will provide an operational focus for the R & D and innovation activities of the team.

The project responds to the market demand for marine technology RD&I support identified in the Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) R&D&I Delivery Framework for 2014 – 2020 European Programme.  This framework highlights a need for RD&I activities that consolidate and build upon existing sectoral assets, as well as addressing the opportunities and challenges for sector networks and the research base to exploit natural assets and engage the existing core of relevant business activity.