Minister the Hon. Karen Andrews announces $70m funding towards Australia’s Blue Economy CRC

NERA welcomes the announcement by the Hon. Karen Andrews MP, Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, that the Australian Maritime College-led initiative to establish the Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) has been approved and funded.

The new CRC, which has received $70 million in CRC Program funding, will be located at the University of Tasmania in Launceston.

The CRC aligns with the federal Growth Centres, Food Innovation Australia Limited (FIAL) and NERA, and includes industry participation from all three sectors of offshore engineering, aquaculture and marine renewable energy.

The central focus of the Blue Economy CRC initiative is to collaborate on the development of a state-of-the-art offshore seafood and marine renewable energy systems, bringing together industry, R&D and government to provide solutions for the future.

The Australian Ocean Energy Group (AOEG), of which NERA is a proud consortium member, will be participating in the formation of the CRC and its start-up.

NERA CEO Miranda Taylor welcomed the announcement, saying that this industry-led initiative will put Australia at a sustainable and competitive advantage on the world stage.

“With the global blue economy estimated to double in value by 2030 to $3t USD, this CRC comes at an opportune time. Collaboration between the AOEG and the Blue Economy CRC will help to position Australia as a key player in the ocean energy sector,” says Ms Taylor.

“Through focussing efforts on research and collaboration, Australia has the potential to become a leading source of knowledge for the ocean energy community.”

Find out more about the new CRC by visiting here.