Basques to set up offshore renewables research lab

Three organizations based in the Spanish Basque country have agreed to create a joint research laboratory for offshore renewable energies.

The collaboration agreement was signed between the University of the Basque Country/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Tecnalia and Basque Center for Applied Mathematics (BCAM) within the framework of Euskampus.

The main goal of the initiative is to increase organizations’ international visibility, facilitate technology and knowledge transfer to the Basque industry, and to train future professionals for the offshore renewable energy sector, according to Tecnalia.

The three institutions already collaborate in the Data Analysis Laboratory created last year.

BCAM has participated in the Knowledge Pole of Valorization of the Oceans and various research projects on marine renewable energy.

From this initiative, Master in Offshore Renewable Energy (MORE), an Erasmus Mundus Master (MCEM), was established.

According to BCMA, MORE program of international studies will be taught by an international consortium of higher education institutions in at least two of the countries, with scholarship program being financed by the EU for 2018-2018 academic year.

MORE is led by the UPV/EHU, coordinated by Professor Jesús Mari Blanco from the School of Engineering of Bilbao, with the participation of Tecnalia, universities from Scotland, Norway and France, and some 40 entities from all over Europe.