#corkharbour – International yachting star Alex Thomson told an IMERC conference in Cork last night of the yachting opportunities for Cork Harbour. "I am delighted to be visiting Cork and working with the harbour here. I see Cork as a fantastic location for a global yacht racing hub with a perfect harbour allowing protection and natural depth as well as direct access to the Atlantic, the British sailor told the conference. 'We hope that we can support the growing ambition to develop something fantastic here in Cork harbour." The manager of Alex's team, Stewart Hosford added that "We are in discussion with Imerc to see how we can support Minister Coveney's ambitions for Cork Harbour. As a young boy who grew up sailing in Cork Harbour I am very excited about the opportunities for Cork and Ireland."
Last night's conference also heard that Ireland has a huge wave energy resource off its western coast with marine renewable energy potentially providing four times the amount of energy Ireland requires. Many companies are innovating in this space trying to find the technology that will harness the wave energy to make this a reality. Imerc is delighted to announce that one of those companies, Irish wave energy company Jospa, have won the Imerc Innovator of the Year Award.
Jospa have developed an Adjustable Break Fin technology that may double the output from wave energy devices at marginal extra cost. Jospa's technology could be the breakthrough wave energy needs if it is to meet its promise. A panel of high profile judges representing government and industry selected Jospa as the winner of the award.
Ian Venner, Partner at EY, who was a judge for the competition, said "Like all great innovations, the Jospa innovation is very simple but has the potential to have a profound impact on the wave energy sector. I will certainly keep an eye on how they progress over the coming months and years."
Joss Fitzsimons of Jospa, who design and make their own models and test equipment, said "The Imerc award is important for us as an acknowledgement of attainment through our careful progress. Good planning and engineering make it possible to approach success in wave energy without spending astronomic amounts. Based on a still-modest valuation, Jospa seeks investors of quite small amounts."
