MERA is a founding partner and Steering Committee member of the Australian Ocean Energy Group (AOEG) – an industry-led cluster of members from academia, industry and government. This group provides an opportunity for MERA to engage with industry partners and to provide input to industry-wide interaction with government, international standards organisations and funding bodies.
The largest Cooperative Research Centre ever awarded is the Blue Economy CRC, announced by the Commonwealth Government in 2019. The Blue Economy CRC, led by the University of Tasmania, includes UWA-MERA as a minor partner and responds to industry needs for offshore solutions in sustainable primary industries. MERA took a team of five to the Inaugural Participants’ Workshop in Hobart in January 2020, to provide input as the CRC begins to take shape. Scoping projects will further define the research directions. These projects complement the research activities of MERA, facilitate the dissemination of our research outcomes and provide additional resources to broaden the field of research activities.
Several discussions between MERA members and ocean renewable energy companies or engineering consultants have taken place over the last twelve months. These include Bombora Wave Power, CorPower Ocean and Eco Wave Power for the wave energy sector; Sabella for the tidal energy sector; Star of the South, Orsted and SAITEC for the offshore wind energy sector; and offshore consultants Fugro and the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute. These are all potential partners to collaborate with and benefit from our research activities, and represent opportunities to promote the wave energy resource in Albany.
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.
