Last Saturday at PAMEC in Rio de Janeiro, the Offshore Proof project helped deliver a dynamic workshop on embedding international standards and certification into marine energy development—from innovation to bankability. Chaired by Winston D'Souza (Lloyd's Register, UK), Jonathan Colby (Streamwise Development, US), and myself, Peter Scheijgrond (Campus@Sea, Netherlands), it drew an energized group from Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, USA, Scotland, Taiwan, Costa Rica, Aruba.
For decades, the marine energy sector has pushed through tough realities, from prototypes lost to the sea to promising pilot projects unable to break into the market. Yet each challenge has brought clarity, strengthening our understanding of the technical, economic, and regulatory hurdles that must be overcome. This progress has led to the creation and improvement of IEC standards for marine energy conversion systems, vital building blocks for a more resilient, scalable future.
But standards alone aren’t enough. Accelerating commercialisation ultimately depends on one thing above all: Trust. Trust in the technologies, trust in the data, and, crucially, trust in independent, internationally recognised conformity assessment systems that verify performance. This is where the IECRE conformity assessment system plays a vital role. Through the verification of designs by its accepted certification bodies and the validation of test results by its accepted test facilities, it ensures that performance claims are credible, robust, transparent, and globally accepted. This internationally recognised framework gives developers, regulators, and investors the confidence they need to progress from prototypes to products, and from pilot projects to profitable deployments.
The workshop gave participants practical insights into leveraging these tools, showing how they:
- Reduce technical and financial risk
- Boost investor and stakeholder confidence
- Streamline regulatory and permitting pathways
- Strengthen the credibility and bankability of your technology
Highlights and shoutouts
It
was highly engaging, energetic, and fun—everyone learned something new, from
TC114 technical specs to Winston's excellent "Masterclass" on certification
under IECRE, our interactive Certification Game (developed as part of Offshore
Proof, Interreg NWE), and a closing debate with laser-sharp pros/cons on
certification during innovation, plus plenty of laughter.
Huge credit to Jonathan Colby, IEC TC 114 chairman for nine years, and Winston D'Souza from Lloyd's Register, one of the first IECRE-accepted RECBs.
Offshore Proof's mission
We're
building a network of IECRE-accepted offshore test sites for diverse
competencies, solving the chicken-and-egg dilemma. PAMEC events like this
accelerate that goal. Do you want to get involved? Go to our “get involved”
page to register your interest.