Lost at sea or a new wave of innovation? Examining the effectiveness of support for UK wave energy innovation since 2000.

Wave energy has the potential to provide approximately 20% of the UK’s electricity supply and make an important contribution to meeting its 2050 climate change target. In a bid to harness this resource the UK has invested of £370m in wave energy RD&D since 2000, including test infrastructure.

However, despite this investment, wave energy technology has yet to become commercially viable. Questions remain about whether the strategy taken by government and industry to accelerate wave energy technology innovation could be partly responsible for wave energy's slow progress.

Join the International Public Policy Institute as we launch Dr Matt Hannon’s report ‘Lost at sea or a new wave of innovation? Examining the effectiveness of support for UK wave energy innovation since 2000’.

His research draws upon expert reviews, documentary evidence and a wealth of quantitative data. It examines the extent to which the level and type of UK wave energy innovation support has contributed to this slow progress and highlights recommendations to help accelerate wave energy innovation in the future.

Panellists include:

Chris Stark - Director of Energy and Climate Change, Scottish Government
Elva Bannon - Senior Research Engineer at Wave Energy Scotland
Andrew Macdonald - Senior Innovation Manager at the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult
Max Carcas - Managing Director at Caelulum Limited

Event running order

5:30pm Registration and welcome refreshments

6:00pm Event start. Welcome and event introduction by David Wilson, Executive Director, International Public Policy Institute

6:10pm Report presentation by Dr Matt Hannon, Chancellor's Fellow for Technology and Innovation

6:30pm Panel discussion

7:00pm Q&A Session

7:30pm Drinks reception

8:00pm Event close