The Partnership for Research in Marine Renewable Energy (PRIMaRE)

Addressing challenges facing the marine renewable energy industry
Offshore renewable energy wind turbines
The Partnership for Research in Marine Renewable Energy (PRIMaRE) is a consortium of marine renewable energy experts from higher education, research, and industry who have come together to establish a ‘network of excellence’ based in the south of the UK.
The Universities of Plymouth, Bangor, Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, and Southampton, along with the Plymouth Marine Laboratory have agreed to work together on research projects across the spectrum of marine renewables.
PRIMaRE also has a growing number of associate partners, both in the UK and internationally, who have agreed to join the PRIMaRE Network of Excellence by collaborating to address research and development challenges facing the marine renewables sector.


PRIMaRE
 

Research areas

The overall aim of PRIMaRE is to foster a multi-institutional world-class research cluster in all aspects of marine renewable energy by covering the following research areas:

  • NMaterials

  • NFluid dynamics/hydrodynamics

  • NSurvivability and reliability

  • NEnvironmental resources

  • NImpacts on environment and ecosystems

  • NPower conversion and control

  • NInfrastructure and grid connection

  • NMarine operations and maritime safety

  • NMarine planning and governance

Research priorities

For the marine renewable energy sector to meet its commercialisation targets and achieve success in its development, increased collaboration among sector stakeholders, particularly between research institutions, is necessary.
To accelerate the growth of the marine renewable energy sector and its supply chain, especially in the south of England, PRIMaRE and the SW MEP have identified key research priorities and development needs, which are outlined in this research priorities document.
Offshore Renewable Energy Technology

Annual conference

PRIMaRE runs an annual conference, which provides a forum for exchanging the latest research and development and fostering collaborations within the marine renewables community.
The conference is open to all and covers a wide range of topics, including technology, policy, environment, hydrodynamics, resource characterisation, materials, operations and management.
In the offshore renewable energy research community, the PRIMaRE conference has earned a reputation for being both friendly and informal, while offering high-quality technical sessions and workshops that warmly welcome both industry and academia, including early-stage PhD researchers. The conference offers an opportunity for the PRIMaRE network to showcase the research conducted by various partner institutions, their industrial collaborators, and the broader academic sector.
Big wave breaking at sunset
 

12th PRIMaRE conference 2025

The 12th PRIMaRE Conference, held on July 2–3, 2025, at the University of Bristol, was organised by Professor Andrea Diambra, Dr Paul Harper, Dr Tingfa Liu, and Dr Ahmad El Hajjar. The event brought together approximately 120 attendees, including 38 from industry, highlighting strong academic–industry engagement.
The conference featured 31 technical talks, 12 posters, and four keynote presentations from distinguished speakers: Andrew Garrad (Garrad Balfour), Tim Warren (Blackfish Engineering), Alex Argyros (BP), and Peter Giddings (NCC). A panel discussion on the future of offshore renewables included contributions from Peter Kydd (WSP), Kerry Hayes (Simply Blue Group), and Professor Deborah Greaves OBE FREng .
A total of 57 delegates attended the conference dinner at Brown’s Bristol. Additionally, the Supergen Offshore Renewable Energy Hub workshop, "Creating a Strategic Research Agenda for ORE," attracted 50–60 participants, providing a platform for shaping future research priorities.
The conference was generously supported by Aurora Offshore Engineering (prize sponsor), Cabot Institute for the Environment, Structural Soils, Geoquip Marine, Dewesoft UK, and Blackfish Engineering.

PRIMaRE 12th annual conference
Panel discussion chaired by Dr Paul Harper, with Professor Deborah Greaves OBE FREng, Peter Kydd and Kerry Hayes
PRIMaRE 12th annual conference
Alex Argyros delivering keynote lecture on 'Floating offshore wind – market update and technology'
PRIMaRE 12th annual conference
Networking
PRIMaRE 12th annual conference
Peter Giddings delivering keynote lecture on 'Unpacking the UK Offshore Wind Industrial Growth Plan – connecting fundamental research to industrial growth'
 

PRIMaRE partners