SMATECH 2026, will come to London for its 7th year, and will offer delegates an unparalleled opportunity to network with researchers, technology developers, industrial players, and supply chain partners. It will address the latest developments and strategies in green ship designs & systems (both seagoing and inland waterway vessels), offshore renewable energy, decarbonising shipping & offshore industries, and potential investors from public funds and government support funding, wave and tidal energy resources. This year, for the first time, SMATECH will team up with the annual Conference on Renewable Energy (CORE) as delegates, presentations and knowledge transfer potential are expected to be very similar.

 

With higher fuel costs and raising environmental concerns globally, there has been an increased incentive to move towards marine technology that is more eco-friendly in nature. The term “Green Technology” is applied to procedures, designs and systems that helps contribute in an eco-friendly fashion. Green Technology is nothing new and has existed for years but often disregarded for various reasons. One such example being the Flettner Rotor which had been developed as early in the 1920s but was shelved on an economic basis as the high capital costs outweighed the low bunker costs. With higher fuel costs and an increased focus on becoming “greener”, such technology is being developed again. Part of this growth in green technology is because of new legislation. With tougher legislation being implemented regarding carbon emissions, it is expected billions of dollars is to be invested by organizations to meet these emission caps, or risk large penalties. As a result of the investment geared towards making ships greener, development of stronger renewable energy industries, and continually looking to develop and improve on existing ships design and systems. These improvements are centred on driving down fuel consumption, carbon emissions, development of renewable energy system and carbon capture, which are contribute to a greener environment. With this increased importance on being green, being placed by an increasing amount of stakeholders within a business, it is becoming vital that we increase engagement between industry and academia. This is to ensure that the technology and practices match the ambition and objectives that have been set, and drive R&D across the industry.

 

One of the aims of this conference is to create a framework for knowledge sharing and to develop a roadmap for research activities in the context of smart and green technologies that are a relatively new and challenging field of interest. In particular, the conference will enable research activities leading towards innovative, cost efficient and environmentally benign offshore renewable energy conversion platforms for wind and wave energy resources.