Welcome to the March 2024 update from the Blue Economy CRC where we highlight the news, project updates, events and achievements over the last quarter.
2024 Participants Workshop
2024 International Conference on Ocean Energy
NZ Aquaculture Immersion Tour
In the News
Staff Announcements
Project Updates
Publications
New PhDs & Postdocs
Registrations Open for the 2024 Participants Workshop
Registrations are now open for the 2024 Participants Workshop. This year's Workshop will be held at Peppers Resort & Spa in Kingscliff, Northern NSW on the 4th – 6th June 2024. The Workshop will be held over 2 days on Tuesday 4th and Wednesday 5th June with project workshops and education and training activities on Thursday 6th June.
Join Australia’s leading blue economy industry, research and academic network at the 2024 Participants Workshop as we showcase our collective advances in growing offshore industries and explore together how we can drive bigger impact over the next five years.
Abstract submissions for the 2024 International Conference on Ocean Energy (ICOE 2024) have been extended to 28th March 2024. We invite you to submit your abstract for consideration before the closing date. Early bird registrations remain open until Tuesday 9th July. Be sure to register to take advantage of the early bird rates.
Introducing Keynote Speaker, Dr Andrea Copping
Dr Andrea Copping joins us as keynote speaker for ICOE 2024. Dr. Andrea E. Copping joined Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in 2006, as a senior researcher. Dr. Copping focuses on marine renewable energy development for PNNL on behalf of the Department of Energy. We look forward to welcoming Andrea to the event and further speakers to be announced.
The report highlights the publication of a strategic roadmap aiming for 300GW of ocean energy by 2050, advancements in the Stage-Gate Metrics Framework incorporating environmental considerations, and the ongoing study on the exploration of ocean energy in desalination processes. It also covers collaborative efforts on environmental impacts, alongside advancements in wave and tidal energy modeling and OTEC Economics.
Matthijs Soede, IEA-OES Chairman, says “This report is giving an excellent overview on the latest developments in ocean energy sector and what is done at policy level in all our member countries from China, the United States, Canada, India, Europe to Australia.”
A Blueprint for Future Aquaculture Farms in Australia and New Zealand
The Blue Economy CRC was pleased to host a delegation from Moananui for a four-day Immersion tour across Tasmania this February, providing a foundation for developing a blueprint for future aquaculture farms in Australia and New Zealand.
The four-day tour shone a spotlight on farming seafood and seaweed in Tasmanian waters, in collaboration with Australian innovation, precision farming, sustainability, governance and sustainable supply chain leaders and visits to a selection of on-water and land-based sites as well as a seminar series to leant more about aspects of precision farming in action.
A Lightweight Fish Pen to Move Farms to Deeper Seas
In pursuit of a model that learns from Australia’s existing in-water aquaculture operations but also looks to other maritime offshore engineering and installation learning, The University of Queensland is co-leading a collaborative Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre project in partnership with industry partners to design a cost-effective yet robust pen to support the forecast growth of fish farming into deeper ocean areas to help feed the growing global population.
Project Lead Professor CM Wang features the newly patented SeaFisher pen, designed for sustainable fish farming in deeper, offshore waters with minimised impact. The SeaFisher design has been patented and scale-models will be tested before prototypes are built.
Harnessing the Power of our Oceans to Drive Decarbonisation Solutions in Ocean Industries
Offshore industries rely heavily on diesel-generated energy. As industries look to replace diesel and commit to net zero pathways, the opportunity to access novel oceanic renewable energy sources like wave energy is paramount.
Following extensive industry collaboration and feedback on the requirements, constraints and challenges of industry operating in offshore environments through the Blue Economy CRC research program, MoorPower™ is being developed to provide clean, reliable, predictable energy, reducing the requirement for fossil fuels. In turn, MoorPower™ will reduce carbon emissions, reduce risk, drive down costs and support the growth of a diverse sustainable blue economy through the transition from diesel to renewable energy.
Carnegie Clean Energy’s wave-powered barge concept, ‘MoorPower™’ has been successfully deployed and is now operational in an offshore waters test site in North Fremantle, WA. The deployment follows on from extensive onshore testing and commissioning completed at Carnegie’s onshore facility, focusing on reliability, communications and control strategies.
Wave of Excitement as Innovation Project Takes Shape in Regional WA
Harnessing renewable energy from ocean waves is one of Australia’s greatest opportunities in the transition to resilient electricity grids. Led by Marine Energy Research Australia (MERA) at The University of Western Australia, the wave energy project has reached a major milestone. The M4 Wave Energy Demonstration Project will design, construct, deploy, operate, and decommission a surface riding wave energy converter in King George Sound, the outer harbour in Albany on WA’s south coast.
The $4 million project supports local MERA staff and has engaged head contractor SMC Marine in Albany to coordinate six local businesses as the pioneering supply chain in a new regional ‘Blue Economy’.
The Blue Economy CRC team would like to welcome Dr Shane Roberts to the team as Project Lead, Futures of Seafood.
Shane’s extensive experience includes fisheries and aquaculture management, marine research, aquatic animal health & biosecurity, science based policy & regulation, science communication, emergency management and marine spatial planning.
"Im excited to be part of the dynamic Blue Economy CRC team and am looking forward to working with the Australian seafood community to help chart and navigate their way towards a strong and sustainable future".
Congratulations Dr Miguel Frohlich
The Blue Economy CRC congratulates Dr Miguel Frohlich – recipient of The University of Queensland Early to Mid-Career Researcher (EMCR) Industry Engagement Award for 2023. The awards celebrate high-impact and collaborative research partnerships between EMCRs and industry, with 15 projects awarded across the University’s faculties and institutes.
Dr Frohlich was awarded for his work on the Mapping and analysis of Blue Economy policy and legislative arrangements project, with project partners BMT, State Government of Tasmania, University of Queensland and UTAS. The project, completed in July 2021, produced Australia’s first comprehensive mapping of Australia’s regulatory landscape, leveraging an innovative network graphing approach to identify gaps and overlaps.
We are excited to report on the following progress updates across a selection of our current projects.
Hydrogen Powering of Vessels
We had the opportunity to sit down with BMTs Andrew (Andy) Harris, Technical Lead and Principal Naval Architect, who together have embarked on a pioneering project with research lead, Dr Hongjun Fan of the Australian Maritime College, aimed at revolutionising the way we think about vessel propulsion. This ambitious research initiative focuses on the feasibility of hydrogen and ammonia as green fuel alternatives, marking a significant step towards a zero-emission maritime future. <Read More>
Mooring Tensioner for Wave Energy Converters (MoTWEC)
Progress has been made on the Mooring Tensioner for Wave Energy Converters (MoTWEC) project. The testing phase at Carnegie's onshore testing facility has included crucial assessments of the Mooring Tensioner components, designed to provide passive tension to the moorings of both of Carnegie's technologies CETO and MoorPower. After a period of maintenance, the Mooring Tensioner prototype is ready to recommence testing and will resume cycles at Carnegie’s research facility. <Read More>
Experimental Platform for Aquaculture Production
The Project Team has developed a final and extensive experiment for the project. The exciting experiment will use the EAF for almost 12 months and grow early seawater salmon (post-smolts) up to market size. The major aim is to investigate differences in feed efficiency among of groups of salmon and explore the strength of relationships with measurable differences in fundamental nutritional physiology as measured by OMICS and other potential biomarkers. These can then be applied to understand salmon in other situations such as offshore locations. <Read More>
Creating Opportunities for Bull Kelp Aquaculture
This March our Seaweeds team from AUT, Cawthron and PhD student Jessica Roach met with Te Atiawa o Upoko a Maui Poteke (fisheries) trust - a trust of Te Atiawa, one of the maihn iwi from the Wellington and Taranaki regions. Jessica, (being from the Te Atiawa from the Taranaki area, Paul South from Cawthron and Program Lead Prof Lindsey White discussed the potential to collect Durvillaea spp. samples from the South Coast of Wellington. The team met with Dr. Mark Fenwick, member of the Trust Board, and Scientist at NIWA in Wellington and toured the South Coast to identify potential locations for collection of Durvillaea samples. The team look forward to ongoing collaboration and discussion of future potential to co-locate seaweed farming with offshore wind developments in the Taranaki area. <Read More>
Code of Practice for Aquaculture Vessels
In January, a public workshop was convened to gather feedback on the draft Code of Practice for Aquaculture Vessels. Over 30 individuals from various organisations participated in this workshop and follow-up meetings have been arranged to engage with a broader audience and stakeholders, aiming for a more comprehensive Code of Practice. Feedback received has been incorporated into the code, and the final document is now prepared for submission. This version will undergo review by AMSA and a presentation with the Tasmanian Royal Institution of Navel Architects branch has been scheduled for 12th March 2024. <Read More>
Latest Publications
We'd like to take the opportunity to congratulate PhD Scholar Leteisha Prescott on her publication, The mismatch between swimming speeds and flow regimes when optimising exercise regimes to improve Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, performance in Science Direct Journal (Aquaculture). <Read Publication>
The BE CRC places heavy emphasis on Education & Training, with an unprecedented scale of research opportunities on offer, including fully funded Higher Degree by Research (HDR) PhD scholarships across its five research programs. We are pleased to introduce some of ourlatest PhD scholars and PostDoctural Research Fellows who have recently joined us.