BACKGROUND Taking the experience and lessons learned from more than two decades of ocean energy technology and market development into account, a detailed monitoring of progress and success should have the following characteristics:
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PROJECT DURATION COORDINATOR
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After this initial period of focussing on the technological feasibility (Can it be done? Does it work?), where the only metric used was the successful technology evolution to higher TRL levels, economics and other social acceptance criteria have been identified that need to be considered at an early development stage for ocean energy technology to be commercially successful. The current situation is characterised by an ongoing international collaboration on the development of ocean energy technology and the management of the various stage-gated technology development programmes run by funders around the world. This has led to an ongoing need to develop a process for defining appropriate and rigorous metrics for measuring success in a number of critical target areas of OE technology development. Furthermore, associated numerical success thresholds must be identified for each metric which can be applied at each stage of development as stage gate success thresholds.
The objective of this task is to build clarity, information and understanding to support the definition of a fully defined set of metrics and success thresholds. These “stage gate measurements of success” in interrelated topic areas are linked to a top-level optimisation of Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE) – the key metric into which all others inevitably feed. This provides a significant international challenge since a final definition of metrics and success thresholds will, to some extent, be specific to a technology area and perhaps the type of market targeted.
OBJECTIVES
The ultimate objective is to establish a common international stage gate metrics framework to be used by technology developers, investors and funders.
An internationally accepted approach provides device developers, national and international funding organisations, and the development community the following benefits: