Marine technologies

We are one of the UK’s leading centres for the marine industry and have the largest marine sector workforce in south west England. Our two coastlines, many ports, harbours and marinas, naval and marine bases, numerous boat and shipbuilders make Devon an obvious choice for locating and growing a marine business.

The planned 1.5GW offshore Atlantic Array wind farm will also be sited off North Devon, acting as a hub for the marine renewable sector and its supply chains.

A wide network of businesses, geared specifically to supporting the needs of marine sector companies and an exceptional marine sector skills base can help your business to grow.

Devon is home to the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth; the Plymouth Marine Skills Centre; and Plymouth Marine Laboratories. Many of our Higher Education colleges offer qualifications and apprenticeships tailored to the marine sector and we have centres of excellence in marine renewable energy at Plymouth and Exeter Universities.

The Peninsula Research Institute for Marine Renewable Energy (PRIMaRE) is a response from the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth to the challenges facing businesses involved in marine renewable energy. It supports Wave Hub, the South West of England’s £42 million development centre for testing of wave energy devices.

PRIMaRE brings together a team of international researchers and world class facilities to accelerate the development of technology and address the most critical challenges facing the marine renewable energy industry. PRIMaRE collaborates with industry to support research and development activity across a number of areas, including design, engineering, environmental impact and grid connection.

Recent estimates from the South West Regional Accounts indicate that employment in the marine sector in Devon grew by 24% between 2008 and 2009 alone, and output in the sector for the same period increased by 25%.

 

Marine technology business distribution.