COAST Lab - 1630220
Our current energy system is heavily reliant on fossil fuels and a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and global climate change. Offshore renewable energy (ORE) is a key source to transition away from fossil fuels. ORE captures energy from waves, tidal currents and offshore wind, and with technology converts this energy  into usable power. The success of ORE technology depends on an appreciation of its interaction with the whole energy system. A thorough understanding of how the technology interacts in its environment, affects other users of the space, the grid, and end users of the generated power is critical.
At Plymouth, our expertise and unique facilities place us at the forefront of research in this field, leading the UK's development for a cleaner energy future.

Leading offshore renewable energy research

Supergen ORE Hub 

Led by Professor Deborah Greaves OBE FREng the Supergen ORE Hub is a £9 million investment that provides research leadership to connect academia, industry, policy and public stakeholders, inspire innovation, and maximise societal value in offshore wind, wave and tidal energy. Comprised of 10 UK universities, the Hub unites the common or aligned research challenges and synergies in the existing technology of offshore wind and marine energy, to advance the emerging sector of ORE and maintain the UK’s position as a world leader in this field. 
Supergen ORE

Flexible Responsive Systems in Wave Energy: FlexWave 

FlexWave is a leading project that will assess the performance of wave energy converters developed using deformable materials, which could improve performance, survivability, reliability and reduce costs. The project will unite experts in hydrodynamics, materials and deployable structures and conduct extensive design analysis and numerical modelling simulations of flexible fabric wave energy converters, alongside physical tests in the COAST Laboratory.
Flex Wave

Cornwall Floating Offshore Wind Accelerator

Floating Offshore Wind (FLOW) is a fast-growing sector worldwide and the UK government has committed to reaching 40GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030. The project is developing tools, knowledge and data to accelerate the Celtic Sea floating offshore wind opportunity making a distinctive contribution to the socio-economic growth of the community and region.
Cornwall Floating Offshore Wind Accelerator

People

Centre for Decarbonisation and Offshore Renewable Energy

Centre for Decarbonisation and Offshore Renewable Energy 

In response to climate change imperatives, we are bringing together a critical mass of leading research and expertise from across the University of Plymouth. Through co-creation and collaboration with partners from business, government and key communities from across the globe, the Centre aims to be a beacon for the University’s whole-system transdisciplinary approach to solutions-oriented research, accelerating sustainable developments in decarbonisation and renewable energy.