The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney is working with China on the development of a similar facility in the Asian country.

EMEC is providing feasibility studies for a Chinese Marine Energy Centre (CMEC) as part of a £200m marine laboratory campus in Shandong province.

The project is backed by the Prosperity Fund, which is supported by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and China Britain Business Council to help progress policy support in China towards developing a demonstration site to facilitate innovation in wave and tidal energy.

Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology will serve as the base for the project, drawing researchers from a number of Chinese universities.

An ocean energy demonstration site has already been identified as a main focus of the lab’s activities, EMEC said.

EMEC managing director Neil Kermode said: “The maritime capabilities in and around Qingdao are astonishing, and China has a very strong stance on tackling climate change.

“Combined, this makes marine energy an interesting and important endeavour for their researchers.”

Image: sxc