At the invitation of the Government of the Canary Islands, H2sea joined the DiploInnova Canarias in Brussels on 15 October last where science, innovation and economic development came together. This diplomacy forum focused on maritime innovation and European partnerships. The event brought together representatives from several European Commission directorates-general, European research and industry networks, and organisations from the Canary Islands, including Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (PLOCAN), the Canary Islands Maritime Cluster (CMS) and the Canary Islands Institute of Technology (ITC).
Discussions centred on how to scale up renewable energy projects. Drawing on its own offshore hydrogen concepts and experience from past and current projects, H2sea contributed practical perspectives on what is needed to move from demonstration towards deployment at increasing scale. Within the Canary Islands, PLOCAN’s offshore platform and test infrastructure offer an excellent starting point for joint projects that could help put these ideas into practice.
H2BLUE workshop: exploring future European cooperation
In the afternoon, Marika van Pol, External Affairs at H2sea, participated in the H2BLUE working table on renewable energy, hydrogen and decarbonisation. Organised by PLOCAN as the coordinator of the H2BLUE consortium, the workshop explored opportunities for cooperation under Horizon Europe and the next EU Framework Programme, FP10.
Discussions covered offshore and island renewable energy, floating and multi-use platforms, hydrogen value chains and the decarbonisation of ports and maritime operations. The aim was to identify shared interests and potential partners, explore testing and demonstration opportunities, and develop Expressions of Interest as a first step towards future cooperation under European funding programmes.
Photograph © Bernal Revert / BR&U