Technological innovations

POSEIDON will boost offshore innovation, attracting a wide variety of companies. This could further strengthen Europe's already strong export position in renewable energy technologies. Furthermore, the oil and gas service and supply industry will be able to prolong and extend its activities in European seas.

System innovations

The systems approach is crucial, because Poseidon involves the transition to a new way of generating and distributing energy. The challenge is to develop an optimum system which prevents lock-in and disinvestments, and maximises cost-effectiveness.

Institutional innovations

We recognise that our ambitions are high, and that not only technical but also institutional difficulties need to be overcome. This requires industrial and political commitment and cooperation, technological development, legal and institutional arrangements, and much more.

Given current political ambitions relating to offshore wind energy, security of energy supply, and safeguarding the global climate system, international cooperation now has the best chance of success for decades. Grid-related issues, environmental impacts and the variability of supply can all be solved at the system level, as long as there is close cooperation between governments, industries and other stakeholders such as representatives of environmental NGOs and fisheries.