First Centre of Excellence in Ocean Engineering Established in Porto
INESCTEC.OCEAN aims to become an international benchmark in ocean engineering.
Porto continues to lead the way in scientific innovation and will be at the forefront of ocean research in the coming years. The new INESCTEC.OCEAN (I.OCEAN) centre will be Portugal's first national centre of excellence in ocean research and engineering.
Led by INESC TEC - an R&D institution based on the Faculty of Engineering campus at the University of Porto -, this new centre represents an investment exceeding €30 million and will remain incubated at INESC TEC for the next four years.
I.OCEAN will focus on the development of emerging maritime sectors, such as offshore renewable energy, deep-sea monitoring, environmental impact assessments of human activities at sea, and offshore aquaculture.
In addition to R&D in these areas, the centre aims to create a network of onshore and offshore technological infrastructures to develop and test new technologies. Advanced training for human resources and bridging science with the business world to foster innovation are also among the key goals of this groundbreaking centre.
Recognizing the sea's importance to Portugal and its economy, I.OCEAN will also focus on traditional sectors such as fishing and port/logistics activities.
Additionally, the centre will be involved in the creation of four scientific programmes dedicated to areas such as Marine Structures, Marine Robotics, Ocean Energy, and Ocean Data. The initiative will actively participate in over 50 industry cooperation projects, addressing market needs and fostering innovation.
José Manuel Mendonça, former chairman of INESC TEC's Board of Directors and in charge of coordinating I.OCEAN's application, highlighted Portugal's overall potential for this sector: "Our territory has privileged conditions for the development of the Blue Economy and will now be able to count on a Centre of Excellence, which aims to leverage all this potential through research and ocean engineering."
