Ocean Tech Expo 24

09:45
Welcome, Professor Judith Petts DBE, Vice Chancellor and CEO, University of Plymouth & Kevin Forshaw, Chair, Maritime UK SW and Director of Commercial Partnerships, University of Plymouth

10:00
Intro to Maritime UK SW, Sheldon Ryan, Chief Executive

10:10
Keynote: Innovation and the Role of Leadership, Sarah Kenny OBE, Chief Executive, BMT

10:25
Keynote: Harland & Wolff Future Technologies, Tom Rooney, Senior Business Development Manager, Defence, Harland & Wolff

10:40
Panel Q&A chaired by Sheldon Ryan, Chief Executive, MUKSW

11:00 Break

11:30
Support for Innovators

11.30 Innovate UK support for Maritime Innovation, James Lovett, Innovation Lead – Future Maritime Technologies, Innovate UK

11.40 IUK business case study, Monitoring and forecasting seawater visibility with remote sensing and artificial intelligence, Charlotte Gravell, Product Designer, Marla

11.50 GSW marine and maritime Launchpad Programme, Layla Burrows, Regional Manager South West

12.05 Q&A

12:20 Networking Lunch and Exhibition

13:35 Session
Commercial opportunity: Critical innovation needs for offshore wind

One of the major challenges facing the offshore renewable energy sector is the speed and extent of deployment needed to meet Net Zero targets, which include deploying 50 GW of installed offshore wind capacity by 2030 with up to 5GW of this from floating offshore wind. In the South West there is now a once in a lifetime opportunity for the supply chain to be part of one of the largest floating offshore wind initiatives in the world as The Crown Estate launches leasing Round 5 aiming to install 4.5GW of floating offshore wind across 3 designated Project Development Areas in the Celtic Sea by 2035. In the session, ‘Critical innovation needs for offshore wind’ the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult will be joined by experts from academia and industry who will explain how supply chain innovation in technology and processes will be essential to achieving these targets. 

Intro from session Chair: Simon Cheeseman, The Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult

13:45 Keynote
Steve Wyatt, Director, Strategy & Emerging Technology, OREC: OSW UK & International Market Analysis, Celtic Sea FLOW supply chain opportunity, identifying opportunities in projects, balance of plant and operations & maintenance.

14:00 Panel Session: The SW opportunity:

Opportunities in Floating Offshore Wind – Julie Taylor ORE Catapult, ACORD project

14:10
Marine Tech Innovation in the South West, Prof Deborah Greaves OBE, University of Plymouth

14:20
Vaughan Weighill, Business Development Manager, Celtic Sea, RWE

14:30
Innovation funding landscape – Claire Canning, Programme Manager for the Offshore Wind Growth Partnership, ORE Catapult

14:40 Panel discussion and Q&A

15.00 The Crown Estate £50m Supply Chain Accelerator (SCA) fund, David Hodkinson, The Crown Estate

15:15 Break

15:40 Session: Meet the Defence Buyers
Defence wants to encourage innovation in business and attract new and non-traditional suppliers to the supply base, both directly with the MOD and with our major suppliers.
Front line commands have put innovation high on their agenda, and it is expected this will be reflected in their future requirements. Technology is creating both threats to, and opportunities for the UK’s security and prosperity. Innovation is vital to maintaining our military advantage.

The South West Regional Defence and Security Cluster chair Dr Neil Skelland and Commander Steve Henaghen RN will chair sessions focused on the defence procurement pipeline and how collaboration for innovation supports national security.

Chairs:
Dr Neil Skelland, Chair SW Regional Defence & Security Cluster and Director, Business Development, Atlas Elektronik UK

Commander Steve Henaghen RN
15:40
Welcome and introduction – Dr Neil Skelland

15:45

Keynote Defence’s role in the maritime eco-system, Rear Admiral Paul Carroll, Director, DE&S Gateway

16:00
Commander Steve Henaghen RN – Industry Panel
Presentations from panellists and Q&A session

Mike Knott CBE, Senior Maritime Capability Advisor, BAE Systems Maritime & Land.

Richard Powell OBE, Director Strategic Engagement (Maritime), QinetiQ

Tom Rooney, Senior Business Development Manager, Defence, Harland & Wolff

Samy Mehsen, Head of Services Business, Atlas Elektronik UK

Neil Young, Global Engineering Director, Babcock

16:30

Dr Neil Skelland – Government panel

How do you support innovation throughout the supply chain?

Richard Powell OBE, Chair, Maritime Defence and Security Group, Society of Maritime Industries

Dr Nicholas Beagley, Minister Counsellor Science and Technology, Department of Defence, Australian High Commission London

Anita Friend, Head of Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA)

Cdr Daniel Weil, Co-Director London Tech Bridge, RN Office of the Chief Technology Officer

16:55
Closing remarks – Commander Henaghen

17:00 Close

Commercial impact of research

10.45
Commercial impact of research capability in the Maritime UK SW partners, Chaired by Kevin Forshaw

How Universities and Research Organisations are a valuable source of support, in terms of both facilities and expertise, to drive R&D in industry for the rapidly growing global ocean economy.

10.50 How PML Applications  is ensuring best practice in Ocean-based Carbon Dioxide Removal (oCDR), Sam Fawcett, Manager of The Centre For Coastal Technologies

11:00 University of Plymouth Case Study, How University of Plymouth COAST laboratory is supporting Offshore Renewable Energy development and innovation,  Dr Martyn Hann

11:10 University of Exeter Case Study, Eugene Bari, Ecomar Propulsion, Innovation in the Maritime Sector

11:20 Bournemouth University Case Study, Condition monitoring of high value assets, Prof. Zulfiqar Khan

11.30
Commercial impact of national research capability in the MarRI-UK Partnership, Simon Reid, Babcock, Interim Director, MarRI-UK & Professor Richard Bucknall,  Professor of Marine Systems in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UCL

11.45
Q&A – How can businesses access and commercialise academic research? Chaired by Kevin Forshaw, Chair, MUKSW and University of Plymouth

12:00 Networking Lunch and Exhibition

13:30 Investing in Place: 

Plymouth and South Devon Freeport, Eifion Jones

Dorset, Jo Rufus, Dorset Council  

Cornwall, Jim Grant, University of Exeter 

North Devon – Chris Fuller, Torridge District Council 

Q&A

14:45 Break

15:15 Session: Commercial applications of marine autonomy

This session will explore the transformative potential of marine autonomy across various commercial sectors.  From offshore energy and zero emissions to data collection techniques and underwater advanced robotics proving grounds.  Esteemed speakers and industry experts will share insights, and future projections, providing invaluable perspectives on the current landscape and the trajectory ahead.

Throughout this session we will explore the opportunities shaping the marine autonomy ecosystem, with relevant case studies highlighting where innovation meets real-world challenges.   

By harnessing the power of autonomous systems, we aim to enhance efficiency, safety, and sustainability in marine operations to secure a resilient maritime future.

Chair: Professor James Fishwick, Head of Smart Sound Plymouth and Head of Operations and Technology, Western Channel Observatory

15:20
Developments in mini-MASS for offshore energy, James Williams, Director, Unmanned Survey Solutions

15:30
Scaling up Marine autonomy – opportunities and challenges for large uncrewed surface vessels Will Alexander, BMT

15:40
ACUA Ocean’s Hydrogen-Powered USV for persistent, scalable, zero-emission data gathering, John Hunnibell, ACUA Ocean

15:50
Advancements in Marine Autonomy: Remote & Real-Time Data Collection Techniques, Mark Burnett, Director, Seiche Ltd

16:00
Smart Sound Connect Subsurface – a unique proving ground for underwater innovation, Prof Alex Nimmo Smith, University of Plymouth

16:10 Panel Q&A

16:30 Close

Support for innovators

16:30 IUK Edge and Enterprise Europe Network, Deborah Watson, Innovation and Growth Manager, Innovate UK Business Connect

16:45
Cancelled due to election restrictions – An Introduction to the Civil Maritime Team – Faye Sukkar, Assistant Head of Civil Maritime, Department for Business and Trade

17:00 Close

Evening Boat Cruise around Plymouth Sound

18:30
Arrive for Networking Boat Cruise around Plymouth Sound (separate ticket required) 

19:00
Embarks from Barbican Landing Stage

21:00
Boat arrives back at Barbican Landing Stage followed by networking on the Barbican