History of PRIMaRE

PRIMaRE started in 2009 as the Peninsula Research Institute for Marine Renewable Energy, set up by the Universities of Plymouth and Exeter with funding from the South west Regional Development Agency (SWRDA), now REGEN SW, and the European Union through its Convergence and Competitiveness programmes. Initially conceived as a 3 year project which brought together world-class researchers around Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) to build together the capabilities necessary in the Peninsula to support Wave Hub and have a wider impact in the global MRE sector.

In 2013 PRIMaRE rebranded itself as the Partnership for Research in Marine Renewable Energy, a consortium of marine renewable energy experts across higher education, research and industry which have joined together to establish a ‘network of excellence’ centred in the South of the UK. The Universities of Plymouth, Exeter, Southampton, Bristol and Bath, along with the Marine Biological Association of the UK and Plymouth Marine Laboratory, have agreed to work together on research projects across the spectrum of marine renewables. Completing the line-up of the Partnership for Research in Marine Renewable Energy (PRIMaRE) is the South West Marine Energy Park (SW MEP) and the Wave Hub facility off the north coast of Cornwall, who will act as conduits between the research community and industry.