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Collaborating with Australian and international ocean energy industry partners, academic researchers and government to facilitate innovative renewable energy technology and fieldwork activities.
The Great Southern Marine Research Facility (GSMRF) in Albany, southern Western Australia, hosts a knowledge and innovation hub for Australia’s ocean renewable energy sector and for the region’s coastal communities.
Housed in the historic railway station, GSMRF is a new addition to The University of Western Australia and expands its Albany regional campus. The facility invites collaborations within academia, marine industry, and government and aims to be a new launchpad for marine activities in the Great Southern. The large entrance area of GSMRF is dedicated to public outreach and science communication, during daily opening hours and specials events.
The main occupant of GSMRF is the Wave Energy Research Centre (WERC) – a State Government and Royalties for Regions supported project across the UWA regional and metropolitan campus locations. The facility is closely linked to ocean engineering research activities, professional networks and facilities in Perth. The operations of WERC have attracted a new wealth of marine expertise to the Great Southern and to GSMRF, offering research opportunities to staff and students.
“We are bringing together decades of expertise in offshore engineering to advance renewable ocean energy to the point of commercial viability. This is a multi-disciplinary, cross-sector project that aims to put the Great Southern on the international map of ocean energy and innovation hotspots.”
MERA Director Professor Christophe Gaudin
Watch our video here:
Surface to Seabed: research into wave energy & ocean renewables in Australia’s South-West
The M4 Wave Energy Prototype is nearing completion, and is set to be deployed in Albany’s King George Sound in a matter of weeks.
Run by UWA, the Commonwealth-backed Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre and the State Government, the M4 Albany Wave Energy Demonstration Project is almost complete.
Marine Energy Research Australia (MERA) has its headquarters in the Great Southern Marine Research Facility (GSMRF) in Albany, southern Western Australia, and operates across the Albany and Perth campus locations of The University of Western Australia. MERA was established as a new knowledge hub for the ocean energy community and receives support from the Western Australian Government’s Royalties for Regions program. MERA provides world-class multi-disciplinary research in three main interlinked research programs that support ocean renewable energy projects.
The Great Southern Marine Research Facility is part of a professional network of experts in ocean engineering that includes research infrastructure across the Albany and Perth locations. GSMRF attracts professionals to the region and is a dedicated co-working space to create, maintain and grow collaborations to further benefit the region. The facility features offices and meeting rooms, as well as infrastructure for marine field operations.
MERA is supported by the Western Australian Government and hosts a multi-disciplinary group of researchers and professionals. The facility is being used by three UWA faculties and offers collaborative working spaces for visitors from academia and industry.
We wish to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land that Great Southern Marine Research Facility stands upon, the Minang Noongar people. We wish to acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of this region.
