Launch of The Marine Business Technology Centre

The MBTC is a partnership between Plymouth City Council, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, the University of Plymouth, the University of Exeter and the Marine Biological Association. Together, these organisations boast considerable knowledge and expertise in the areas of advanced marine autonomy, alternative propulsion, environmental monitoring, advanced materials and cyber security.

Councillor Tudor Evans, Leader of Plymouth City Council, says: “The unveiling of Smart Sound Plymouth represents a hugely significant step in making Plymouth and the surrounding area the UK’s centre for the development, testing and proving of cutting edge marine technologies.

“With the MBTC based in our new Oceansgate development, the UK’s first marine enterprise zone, Smart Sound Plymouth will be a unique selling point for the city and is going to be crucial for growing our marine sector.”

Covering over 1,000km² of ocean off Plymouth Sound, the proving area’s impressive variety of water depth, sea states and weather conditions is ideally suited for conducting sea trials, including sub-sea tests with access to offshore water depths of 75m.

Through the MBTC, access to Smart Sound Plymouth is free for eligible businesses and comprises a number of physical assets to aid technological development. These will include:

• An unmanned surface vessel operated by the University of Plymouth
• Fully instrumented data buoys that form part of the Western Channel Observatory operated by Plymouth Marine Laboratory
• The Continuous Plankton Recorder run by the Marine Biological Association
• A fleet of support vessels to facilitate trials.

Smart Sound Plymouth is ideally suited for building and supporting the next generation of marine technologies, and will provide access to a professional team.

Professor Stephen de Mora, Chief Executive of Plymouth Marine Laboratory, says: “Benefiting from a local partnership of world class organisations, Smart Sound Plymouth, as the best understood and instrumented coastal marine environment in the United Kingdom, provides an excellent opportunity to develop and trial marine innovation.”

The MBTC is designed for Devon-based marine businesses to help develop the next generation of technology. The centre has received £2.6 million from the European Regional Development Fund alongside contributions from all the partners, bringing the total investment to £4.5 million.