Wavebob Announced SmartBay Innovator of the Year

Dr. Patrick Hartigan and Andrew Parish. Wavebob with Mike Devane, SMARTBAY. Wavebob won the overall SMARTBAY innovation award at the SmartOcean Innovation Exchange at the Volvo Global Village. Photo: Andrew Downes Photography

Wavebob was recognised as one of Ireland’s leading engineering and research companies today when they were awarded the SmartBay Innovator of the Year Award. Wavebob was recognised for innovation, engineering and leadership in the emerging wave energy market.

Four additional companies were also recognised for their contribution to innovation and research by leading International Companies. IBM presented an award to SonarSim Ltd; Intel presented an award to Episensor; Veolia presented to Techworks Marine Ltd.; and Microsoft presented an award to IDS Monitoring Ltd., all members of the SmartOcean innovation cluster.

Andrew Parish, CEO of Wavebob said, ‘We are delighted to receive this award – it is great recognition from a cluster of companies all working together in the pursuit of commercial opportunities in the marine sector. We have benefited from being part of the SmartOcean innovation cluster through access to world class skill-sets and technology which co-exist in the SME and multinational companies in the cluster. This approach is directly in line with Wavebob’s strategy of working with strategic partners.”

The awards were announced following the Inaugural SmartOcean Innovation Exchange, as part of the SmartOcean Conference. Sponsored by SmartBay Ireland Ltd, the event was hosted at the Ocean Wealth Pavilion of the Volvo-Global Business Village.

The Innovation Exchange event was designed to support companies to profile their new technologies that address market opportunities in the global marine sector. In total, 22 Companies were recognised by SmartBay Ireland and received the SmartBay Innovator Award. A number of International companies also participated reinforcing the links between the SmartOcean Cluster and related Clusters in Europe and Canada.

Speaking at the event Mike Devane, Chairman of SmartBay Ireland Ltd., said ‘This event demonstrates, in the most practical way, how collaboration within a Cluster can help smaller companies gain access to technology and markets through the support of leading Multi Nationals’.

Dr Peter Heffernan, CEO Marine Institute said “We are delighted to be involved in this event supporting small and medium business to develop innovative solutions for the marine sectors. It’s great to see 22 Irish and International companies showcasing their innovations and working with multinationals and the research community to examine how we can use technology to make the most of our marine resources.”

Ends

For more information contact Lisa Fitzpatrick 087 2250871 or email lisa.fitzpatrick@marine.ie

Photography: Andrew Downes Photography, Galway +353 (0)876391500. email: andrew@andrewdownes.net

Notes to editor

About SmartBay Ireland Ltd.

SmartBay Ireland is responsible for the establishment and development of a National Research, Test and Demonstration Facility to support the application and translation of research, and to provide platforms for the testing and demonstration of new technologies and solutions for Marine and related sectors. The Company provides access to Researchers, Innovators and Entrepreneurs, who use both its physical and cyber environment to develop innovative solutions.

SmartBay is a public good company established to support the National Objective of sustainably developing Ireland’s Ocean Wealth. It is at the core of the SmartOcean Cluster providing the basis and support for national and international collaborations between public and private interests, engaging research, technology, and commercial companies, and focused clearly on the future “shared” development of the North Atlantic.

SmartBay Ireland is sponsored by State Agencies including the Marine Institute and funded under Cycle V of the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions funded by the Higher Education Authority.

About SmartOcean Cluster

Ireland’s Smart Ocean Innovation Cluster is a network of Companies, Academic Research Groups, and State Agencies with a collective focus on the strategic development of Ireland’s Marine assets and resources. It is focused on leveraging technological innovation for economic impact. Within the SmartOcean Cluster, a wide range of technologies coalesce as new innovative products and solutions addressing new emerging markets. The Smart Ocean Cluster promotes engagement among all the Cluster members and provides the SmartBay platform as a hub supporting advanced research and enabling product and service development and testing. A key strategic goal is to extend the reach of the Cluster Internationally and to establish effective links with Industry Partners.

SmartBay Innovators

The following 22 companies received SmartBay Innovator Awards.

Automsoft www.automsoft.com

Cathx Ocean www.cathxocean.com

Compass Informatics www.compass.ie

IGeotec www.igeotec.com

Critical Software - Portugal www.criticalsoftware.com

DeCare Systems Ireland Ltd www.decaresystems.ie

Eire Composites Teo www.eirecomposites.com

Episensor www.episensor.com

IDS Monitoring www.idsmonitoring.com

Luxcel Biosciences www.luxcel.com