2024 Annual Symposium - Aberdeen, Scotland
Monday – Arrival and Welcome
The INORE Symposium officially began in Aberdeen, Scotland, with participants arriving throughout the afternoon for registration. This gave everyone time to get settled and meet new the newest members of the INORE community.
In the evening, attendees gathered for the official kickoff of the Symposium. The program opened with an introduction outlining the exciting week ahead, followed by a lively icebreaker activity that helped spark conversations and build connections among participants from around the world.
The welcome session set the tone for the week, highlighting the combination of research discussions, technical site visits around Scotland, and social events planned for attendees. The evening wrapped up with some free time, when the attendees chose to swim in the ocean (with the Aberdeen Bay Offshore Wind Farm in the background) and relax by a bonfire.
Tuesday – Research Presentations and Dunnottar Castle
Tuesday began with breakfast before moving into the first round of INORE research presentations and poster sessions. These sessions showcased innovative research, from biofouling detection on tidal turbines to control optimization of floating offshore wind turbines. These presentations sparked engaging discussions among attendees working across marine and renewable energy fields.
In the afternoon, the group set out for one of the week’s most memorable excursions: a visit to Dunnottar Castle and a hike along the beautiful eastern coast of Scotland. Located on dramatic cliffs overlooking the North Sea, the historic site offered stunning views and a chance for participants to experience a piece of Scotland’s rich history together. The outing provided a refreshing break from technical sessions and created plenty of opportunities for INORE’s infamous networking mission.
Wednesday – Edinburgh and Site Visits
Wednesday featured a full day of travel and technical exploration. After breakfast, participants traveled to Edinburgh to first visit Fastblade turbine blade testing facility, then the FloWave Ocean Energy Research Facility, two of the world’s most advanced testing environments for marine energy technologies.
During the visits, attendees learned about the Fastblade testing facility, which is the world’s first test facility that uses regenerative hydraulic technology to offer high-quality, low-cost fatigue testing of tidal blades and other composite structures for research and product development.
We then visited FloWave’s unique circular wave and current tank and how it is used to simulate real ocean conditions for testing marine renewable energy devices. These tours provided valuable insight into experimental research and collaboration between academia and industry.
We finished up the technical portion of the day with an engaging presentation from Dr. Henry Jeffrey from Ocean Energy Systems.
Following the presentation, the group enjoyed our annual city scavenger hunt in Edinburgh. Teams got to explore explored the city while completing challenges, bringing out everyone’s competitive spirit before enjoying a dinner in the city center.
Thursday – More, Presentations, and Site Visits
Thursday added with more technical learning from our attendees via research poster sessions and presentations. The morning also featured a presentation from our sponsors, Blake Clough. These sessions encouraged discussion, knowledge sharing, and new ideas among attendees.
Following the technical session, participants took part in workshops and technical site visits with Mocean Energy and Verlume. With Mocean Energy, attendees learned about their innovative wave energy converter technology. Participants were able to see the device up close and hear directly from engineers about how it captures energy from ocean waves and converts it into usable power. The group also visited Verlume, a company specializing in subsea energy storage and power management systems. During the visit, participants learned about Verlume’s subsea battery technology and how it can store and deliver reliable energy for offshore operations such as ocean monitoring systems, subsea infrastructure, and marine renewable energy installations. Seeing both the wave energy technology from Mocean Energy and the subsea energy storage solutions from Verlume gave attendees a deeper understanding of how different technologies can work together to support the future of offshore renewable energy systems.
As always, the evening ended with free time for participants to continue getting to know each other in low-stress environment (aka, the infamous Scotland whiskey bars).
Friday – FLOWIC Visit and Symposium Celebration
Friday began with a site visit to the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult’s Floating Wind Innovation Centre (FLOWIC). FLOWIC serves as a hub for advancing floating offshore wind technologies and supporting the growth of the offshore renewable energy sector. During the visit, participants learned about the work being done to accelerate the development and deployment of floating wind systems, including research and testing facilities on mooring systems, dynamic cables, digital monitoring technologies, and the integration of floating wind farms into existing energy infrastructure.
After returning from the site visit, the Symposium continued with our final poster session and presentation from our sponsor NREL. The afternoon brought everyone together for the INORE Annual Meeting and Awards, where members celebrated the achievements of the participants and voted in new committee members for the following year.
To close out the day, the group headed to Codona’s amusement park in Aberdeen for a fun celebration full of go-karting, mini-golf, bowling, and dancing.
Saturday – Departure
Saturday morning marked the conclusion of the INORE Symposium, with participants gathering for breakfast before departing Aberdeen.
Over the course of the week, attendees experienced a dynamic blend of research presentations, technical site visits across Scotland, historic landmarks, and memorable social activities. The Symposium provided a welcoming space to exchange ideas, build collaborations, and strengthen the global INORE community.
It was a week filled with learning, exploration, and plenty of fun, leaving participants inspired and looking forward to the next opportunity to meet again.