EU Blue Economy Report 2022

The European Commission has published their annual Blue Economy report 2022, giving an overview of the scope and size of the Blue Economy in the European Union.

For ocean energy, the findings are encouraging. According to the report, the ocean energy sector is attracting new industrial players such as Enel Green Power, ENI, Fincantieri, Saipem, SBM Offshore, Total and Wärtsilä, as well as OEMs such as Andritz Hydro Hammerfest, Lockheed Martin, Engie and Schottel. This suggests an increased confidence in the sector’s progress.

Funding support for the sector has also stayed constant. Between 2007-2019, total EU R&D expenditure on wave and tidal energy amounted to €3.84 billion, with the majority of it – €2.74 billion – coming from private sources. In the same period, national R&D programmes contributed €463 million to the development of wave and tidal energy.

63% of the global ocean energy capacity has been developed by EU-27 based companies. But despite the fact that the EU hosts the highest number of wave and tidal energy developers, many developers are looking into markets outside of Europe, with available market instruments such as feed-in tariffs.

To build on and maintain the EU’s current leadership in the ocean energy sector, the report calls for dedicated support for the development of a strong internal market. The first-mover advantage and strong internal markets are fundamental to maintain a competitive position, the report emphasises.