During this year’s Living Planet Symposium (LPS) https://lps25.esa.int/, one of ESA’s premier events on Earth Observation, DIOMEDEO will be presented by EOMAP. The symposium takes place from 23 – 27 June in Vienna, Austria and is open to a broad variety of interested academics and stakeholders. Within the contribution, entitled “DIOMEDEO – Datasets for InnOvative Marine Energy Developments from EO”, the overall project idea and objectives are presented.
Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) is increasingly recognized as a crucial component of global energy transition strategies, offering vast potential to reduce carbon emissions, diversify energy sources, and contribute to energy security. Despite its enormous theoretical potential, the development of MRE remains in its early stages compared to other renewable energy sectors like terrestrial wind and solar. This is primarily due to technological hurdles, regulatory challenges, and the complexity of marine environments. Key sectors within MRE include wave energy, tidal energy, salinity gradient power, offshore wind, and ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC). Each of these sectors faces unique challenges but also offers significant opportunities for sustainable energy production. Given the escalating urgency to combat climate change and reduce fossil fuel dependency, enhancing MRE’s contribution to global energy supply is a strategic priority for many countries and international organizations.
The DIOMEDEO project, led by EOMAP in collaboration with industry experts and Early Adopters, aims to support the MRE industry by integrating advanced Earth Observation (EO) technologies. DIOMEDEO directly addresses the EU’s objectives of supporting a sustainable Blue Economy through data-driven decision-making and regulatory compliance. By providing high-resolution geospatial data and advanced analysis, DIOMEDEO offers solutions tailored to different MRE sectors across a diverse set of pilot sites, including wave, tidal and river hydrokinetic energy installations, salinity gradient plants, and offshore wind farms ensuring optimized site selection, reduced operational costs, and minimized environmental impacts.
DIOMEDEO’s potential for MRE technologies lies in its ability to deliver innovative, EO-based services that enhance operational efficiency, improve environmental monitoring, and support compliance with national and international regulatory frameworks such as the EU Taxonomy and Marine Strategy Framework Directive. By leveraging state-of-the-art EO technologies, including data from current and future Sentinel missions, and fostering collaboration with key industry players, the project aims to close critical data gaps and enable near real-time monitoring capabilities. The integration of EO-derived insights into Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) and site selection processes will empower MRE operators to optimize resource utilization while ensuring sustainability.
With its focus on scalability and replicability, the DIOMEDEO solution has a high potential for accelerating the adoption of MRE technologies across different maritime regions, contributing to global efforts toward a sustainable and resilient energy future.
DIOMEDEO is funded by ESA through the “EO for Sustainable Blue Economy – Marine Renewable Energies EXPRO+” program and is running from 12/2024 to 12/2026.
