Amare Studio

Neil Gray was born and brought up in Orkney and was educated at Kirkwall Grammar School. He graduated from the University of Stirling in 2008 with a first-class Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in politics and journalism. He was elected to represent Airdrie and Shotts Constituency at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.

He had previously won the Airdrie and Shotts Westminster seat in 2015 and held it on two subsequent occasions before resigning to stand for the same area in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. Prior to becoming an MP, Mr Gray worked for former Scottish Government Health Secretary Alex Neil MSP as his Airdrie and Shotts constituency office manager.

Neil Gray was appointed Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development in January 2022. In March 2022 he additionally became Minister with special responsibility for Refugees from Ukraine.

A range of developers from Europe and around the world will present their WECs (Wave Energy Converters) and give an insight into their future plans. This session will be an opportunity to hear about the latest developments in wave energy technology.

Chair: Emer Dennehy, Offshore Programme Manager, Sustainable Energy Authority Of Ireland

With the Green Deal Industrial Plan, a larger Innovation Fund, recovery funds and more, it’s never been a better time to harness public support to develop and deploy the best ocean energy technologies. But funding applications are a world of their own – and sometimes it’s hard to know where to start.

This session is for anyone who wants to help drive forward ocean energy, but who needs public support to make this happen. You’ll be able to sit around the table with and chat directly with representatives from several European and other funding programmes

Chair: Lotta Pirttimaa, Senior Policy Officer, Ocean Energy Europe

As ocean energy reaches industrial roll-out, it’s time to start thinking big. Our sector needs to build many machines at the same time, establish competitive new supply chains and make sure the right supporting infrastructure is in the right place. This session will identify the key challenges and see how private and public actors can work together to re-industrialise Europe!

Chair: Yuki Esser, Head of Operations, DMEC

The session will focus on market opportunities around the world. What is the policy landscape and how is the sector developing in different continents? Panellist will provide their views on what is enabling the deployment of wave and tidal and how barriers could be overcome in the future.

Chair: Valentin Dupont, Policy Officer, Ocean Energy Europe

With a ‘reboot’ of the EU Offshore Strategy in the pipeline, it’s time for a critical look at what’s needed for Europe to remain a world leader in ocean energy. This is not just about funding – it’s also about political support, market creation, rewarding ocean energy’s unique value-add and getting all the right stakeholders onboard. The oceans are rising… so are we.

Chair: Kerrie Sheehan, Head of Research & Technology, SEAI

Tidal stream technologies are on the rise, as there are more and more mature turbines and pilot farms in the ocean. This session will shine a light on the latest developments in tidal stream technology. Developers will present their newest project and share their advances regarding device design, materials and cost reduction.

Chair:Simon Cheeseman, Wave & Tidal Energy Sector Specialist, ORE Catapult

Ocean energy is ready for business. Hear first-hand from investors about what they are looking for and why, and what they’d like to see in the coming years.

Chair: Sonja van Renssen, Editor in Chief, Energy Monitor

One of our programme mainstays, the Flagship session showcases year after year what projects have hit the water. Check our 2023’s edition!

Chair: Rémi Gruet, CEO, Ocean Energy Europe

Kadri Simson is an Estonian politician from the Centre Party, European Commissioner for Energy in the von der Leyen Commission since 1 December 2019. She was previously Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications in Jüri Ratas’ first cabinet from 2016 to 2019.